e  ..  n 

y  "BTnr  the  truth,  and  sell  it  not."  n 

d  n 

m  n 

tl  -FROM     THE—  rj 

I  |[nternational  ^ract  ij^ssionary  ^ociety  I 

£3  Of  SeTreaa.tli-3La,3r   -A-^-veaa-tists.  B 

y  m 

lb!  B 

Iti  ORGANIZED  AUGUST  13,   1S74.  B 

y  B 

y  B 

g    Ei.D    S.  N.  HASKELL,  President,  South  Lancaster,  Mass.  g 

^  W.  C.  WHITE,  Vice-President,  Oakland,  California.  M 

I  Miss  M.  L.  HUNTLEY,  Secretary,  South  Lancaster,  Mass.  q 

I  NELLIE    E.   SISLEV,  Ass't  Sec,  Battle  Creek,  Mich.  | 


O  PRINCETON,    N.    J.  -^^ 


I 


S/iel/.. 


BV    125    .A54    1873 

Andrews,    John   Nevins,    1829- 

1883. 
History  of   the   Sabbath   and 


Ij  cure  an   extensive  and  systematic    distribution   i>f   m  )ral   and    relmi  <u-i   iitcnitn  e 

jij  throu-4h(>ut  all  civilized  countries.      Large  dniatinns  of  the  same  have  been   made 

2  to  public  libraries,  reading  rojms,  first-class  steamers,  etc.,  besides  a  gencn-al  distri- 

y  bution  of  from  Ht'teen  t  )  twenty  millions  pages  annually.     It  also  embraces  in  its  ob- 

y  ject  all  b'jiieviilent  and  missionary  cflforts.      Large  deposits  of  publications  are  kept 

y  constantly  under  the  direction  ofagents  (see  above),  of  whom  they  can  be  obtained  in 

y  the  Knglish,  (icrman,  Italian,  Danish,  and  Swedish  languages.      Corresii  indence   is 

y  solicited  with  those  wishing  further  information. 

y 

yCEEECCCEBCEEBEBCr.irCCCCCr.EEEEnEEEKKBCECBCBIBCBE 


HISTORY 


-OF  — 


THE    SABBATH 


FIRST  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK 


BY     J.     X.     AXDEEWS, 


SECOND    EDITION  — ENLARGED. 


STEAM   PRESS 

OF    THE    SEVENTH-DAY    ADVENTIST    PUBLISHING    ASSOCIATION, 

BATTLE    CREEK,    MICH.: 

isr3. 


PEE FACE 


^.: 


The  history  of  the  Sabbath  embraces  the  period  of  6000 
years.  The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  The 
acts  which  constituted  it  such  were,  first,  the  example  orihe 
Creator ;  secondly,  his  placing  his  blessing  upon  the  day ; 
and  thirdly,  the  sanctification  or  divine  appointment  of  the 
day  to  a  holy  use.  The  Sabbath,  therefore,  dates  from  the 
beginning  of  our  world's  history.  The  first  who  Sabbatized 
on  the  seventh  day  is  God  the  Creator ;  and  the  first  seventh 
day  of  time  is  the  day  which  he  thus  honored.  The  highest 
of  all  possible  honors  does,  therefore,  pertain  to  the  seventh 
day.  Nor  is  this  honor  confined  to  the  first  seventh  day  of 
time  ;  for  so  soon  as  God  had  rested  upon  that  day,  he  ap- 
pointed the  seventh  day  to  a  holy  use,  that  man  might  hal- 
low it  in  memory  of  his  Creator. 

This  divine  appointment  grows  out  of  the  nature  and  fit- 
ness of  things,  and  must  have  been  made  directly  to  Adam, 
for  himself  and  wife  were  then  the  only  beings  who  had  the 
days  of  the  week  to  use.  As  it  was  addressed  to  Adam  while 
yet  in  his  uprightness,  it  must  have  been  given  to  him  as  the 
head  of  the  human  family.  The  fourth  commandment  bases 
all  its  authority  upon  this  original  mandate  of  the  Creator, 
and  must,  therefore,  be  in  substance  what  God  commanded 
to  Adam  and  Eve  as  the  representatives  of  mankind. 

The  patriarchs  could  not  possibly  have  been  ignorant  of 
the  facts  and  the  obligation  which  the  fourth  commandment 
shows  to  have  originated  in  the  beginning,  for  Adam  was 
present  with  them  for  a  period  equal  to  more  than  half  the 
Christian  dispensation.  Those,  therefore,  who  walked  with 
God  in  the  observance  of  his  commandments  did  certainly 
hallow  his  Sabbath. 

The  observers  of  the  seventh  day  must  therefore  include 
the  ancient  godly  patriarchs,  and  none  will  deny  that  they 
include  also  the  prophets  and  the  apostles.  Indeed,  the  en- 
tire church  of  God  embraced  within  the  records  of  inspira- 
tion were  Sabbath-keepers.  To  this  number  must  be  added 
the  Son  of  God. 


IV  PUEFACI-:. 

What  a  history,  therefore,  has  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord! 
Tt  was  instituted  in  Paradise,  honored  by  several  miracles 
each  week  for  the  space  of  forty  years,  proclaimed  by  the 
great  Lawgiver  from  Sinai,  observed  by  the  Creator,  the  pa- 
triarchs, the  prophets,  the  apostles,  and  the  Son  of  God ! 
It  constitutes  the  very  heart  of  the  law  of  God,  and  so  long 
as  that  law  endures,  so  long  shall  the  authority  of  this  sacred 
institution  stand  fast. 

Such  being  the  record  of  the  seventh  day,  it  may  well  be 
asked.  How  came  it  to  pass  that  this  day  has  been  abased  to 
the  dust,  and  another  day  elevated  to  its  sacred  honors? 
The  Scriptures  nowhere  attribute  this  work  to  the  Son  of 
God.  They  do,  however,  predict  the  great  apostasy  in  the 
Christian  church,  and  that  the  little  horn,  or  man  of  sin,  the 
lawless  one,  should  think  to  change  times  and  laws. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  present  volume  to  show,  1.  The  Bi- 
ble record  of  the  Sabbath ;  2.  The  record  of  the  Sabbath  in 
secular  history ;  3.  The  record  of  the  Sunday  festival,  and 
of  the  several  steps  by  which  it  has  usurped  the  place  of  the 
ancient  Sabbath, 

The  writer  has  attempted  to  ascertain  the  exact  truth  in 
the  case  by  consulting  the  original  authorities  as  far  as  it 
has  been  possible  to  gain  access  to  them.  The  margin  will 
show  to  whom  he  is  mainly  indebted  for  the  facts  presented 
in  this  work,  though  it  indicates  only  a  very  small  part  of 
the  works  consulted.  He  has  given  the  exact  words  of  the 
historians,  and  has  endeavored,  conscientiously,  to  present 
them  in  such  a  light  as  to  do  justice  to  the  authors  quoted. 

It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  writer  that  the  history  of  the 
Sunday  festival  presents  such  an  array  of  frauds  and  of  in- 
iquities in  its  support.  These  are,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
essential  to  its  very  existence,  for  the  claim  of  a  usurper  is 
necessarily  based  in  fraud.  The  responsibility  for  these  rests 
with  those  who  dare  commit  or  uphold  such  acts.  The  an- 
cient Sabbath  of  the  Lord  has  never  needed  help  of  this  kind, 
and  never  has  its  record  been  stained  by  fraud  or  falsehood. 

J,    N.    A. 

Battle  Creeh,  Mich.,  Xor.  14,  1873, 


PART  I.  — BIBLE   HISTORY. 
CHAPTER   I. 

PAGES. 

THE  CREATION,  ,  9-13 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  INSTITUTION  OF  THE    SABBATH,  13-32 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE  SABBATH  COMMITTED  TO  THE  HEBREWS,         33-44 

CHAPTER  lY. 

THE  FOURTH  COMMANDMENT,  44-50 

CHAPTER   \ . 

THE  SABBATH  AVRITTEN    BY   THE   FINGER  OF 

GOD, 51-G4 

CHAPTER  YI. 

THE   SABBATH   DURING  THE  DAY   OF  TEMPT- 
ATION,         64-82 

(5) 


Tl  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

PAGES. 

THE  FEASTS,  NEW  MOONS,  AND  SABBATHS,  OF 

THE    HEBREWS,  82-92 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  SABBATH  FROM  DAVID  TO  NEHEMIAH,  ..      92-109 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  SABBATH  FROM  NEHEMIAH  TO  CHRIST,  ..    109-11-1: 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  SABBATH  DURING  THE  LAST  OF  THE  SEV- 
ENTY WEEKS 115-157 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE     SABBATH     DURING     THE     MINISTRY    OF 

THE  APOSTLES, 158-192 


.    PART   II.  — SECULAR  HISTORY. 
CHAPTER   XII. 

EARLY  APOSTASY  IN  THE  CHURCH, 193-208 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  SUNDAY-LORD's  DAY  NOT  TRACEABLE  TO 

THE  APOSTLES, 204-228 


CONTEXTS.  Yll 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PAGES. 

THE  FIRST  WITNESSES  FOR  SUNDAY,  228-243 


CHAPTER   XY. 

EXAMINATION  OF  A  FAMOUS  FALSEHOOD,  ...    243-258 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

ORIGIN  OF  FIRST-DAY  OBSERVANCE, 258-281 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    NATURE    OF    EARLY  FIRST-DAY  OBSERV- 
ANCE,    282-308 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  RECORD  OF  THE  EARLY 

FATHE^.S,    308-331 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    SABBATH    AND    FIRST  DAY  DURING  THE 

FIRST  FIVE  CENTURIES,   .332-368 

CHAPTER  XX. 

SUNDAY  DURING  THE  DARK  AGES,  368-398 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

TRACES  OF  THE  SABBATH  DURING  THE  DARK  ■ 

AGES,  398-432 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

PAGES. 

rOSITIOX     OF    THE    REFORMERS    CONCERNING 

THE  SABBATH  AND  FIRST  DAY, 432-446 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

LUTHER  AND   CARLSTADT,  44G-459 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SABBATH-KEEPERS    IN   THE  SIXTEENTH  CEN- 
TURY,    459-470 

CHAPTER  XXY. 

HOW  AND  WHEN  SUNDAY  APPROPRIATED  THE 

FOURTH  COMMANDMENT,   470-470 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

ENGLISH    SABBATH-KEEPERS,  470-402 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  SABBATH  IN  AMERICA,  403-512 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SABBATH, 


PART    I  — BIBLE    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   I. 


THE     CREATION. 


Time  .and  eternity — The  Creator  and  his  work — Events  of 
the  first  day  of  time— Of  the  second— Of  the  third— Of  the 
fourth— Of  the  fifth— Of  the  sixth. 

Time,  as  distinguished  from  eternity,  may  be 
defined  as  that  part  of  duration  which  is  measured 
by  the  Bible.  From  the  earliest  date  in  the  book 
of  Genesis  to  the  resurrection  of  the  unjust  at  the 
end  of  the  millennium,  the  period  of  about  7000 
years  is  measured  ofi".^  Before  the  commence- 
ment of  this  great  week  of  time,  duration  with- 
out beginning  fills  the  past ;  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  this  period,  unending  duration  opens  be- 
fore the  people  of  God.  Eternity  is  that  word 
which  embraces  duration  without  beginning  and 
without  end.  And  that  Being  whose  existence 
comprehends  eternity,  is  he  who  only  hath  im- 
mortality, the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible, 
the  only  wise  God.^ 

When  it  pleased  this  infinite  Being,  he  gave  ex- 
istence to  our  earth.     Out  of  nothing  God  created 

1  For  the  scriptural  and  traditional  evidence  on  this  point,  see 
Shimeall's  Bible  Chronology,  part  i.  chap,  vi;  Taylor's  Voice  of 
the  Church,  pp.  25-30 ;  and  Bliss'  Sacred  Chronology,  pp.  199-203. 

2lsa.  57:15;  1  Sam.  15:29,  margin;  Jer.  10:10,  margin; 
Micah  5  :  2,  margin  ;  1  Tim.  6:16;  1 :  17  ;  Ps.  90  :  2. 

SftWmtli  Ilistorv.  3 


10  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 


all  things;^  "so  that  things  which  are  seen  were 
not  made  of  things  which  do  appear."  This  act 
of  creation  is  that  event  which  marks  the  com- 
mencement of  the  first  week  of  time.  He  who 
could  accomplish  the  whole  work  with  one  word 
chose  rather  to  employ  six  days,  and  to  accom- 
plish the  result  by  successive  steps.  Let  us  trace 
the  footsteps  of  the  Creator  from  the  time  when 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  until  the  close 
of  the  sixth  day,  when  the  heavens  and  the  earth 

1  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  in  his  Commentary  on  Gen.  1 : 1,  uses  the 
following  language  :  "  Created]  Caused  that  to  exist  which  pre- 
viously to  this  moment,  had  no  being.  The  rabbins,  who  are  le- 
gitimate judges  in  a  case  of  verbal  criticism  on  their  own  language, 
are  unanimous  in  asserting  that  the  word  hara,  expresses  the 
commencement  of  the  existence  of  a  thing  :  or  its  egression  from 
nonentity  to  entity.  .  .  .  These  words  should  be  translated  : 
'God  in  the  beginning  created  the  substance  of  the  heavens  and 
the  substance  of  the  earth;  i.  e.,  the  prima  materia,  or  first 
elements,  out  of  which  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  succes- 
sively formed.  '  " 

Purchase's  Pilgrimage,  b.  i.  chap,  ii.,  speaks  thus  of  the  crea- 
tion: "Nothing  but  nothing  had  the  Lord  Almighty,  whereof, 
wherewith,  whereby,  to  build  this  city"  [that  is  the  world]. 

Dr.  Gill  says:  "These  are  said  to  be  created,  that  is,  to  be 
made  out  of  nothing;  for  what  pre-existent  matter  to  this  chaos 
[of  verse  2]  could  there  be  out  of  which  they  could  be  formed?" 

*'  Creation  must  be  the  work  of  God,  for  none  but  an  almighty 
power  could  produce  something  out  of  nothing."  Commentary 
on  Gen.  1 :  1. 

John  Calvin,  in  his  Commentary  on  this  chapter,  thus  expounds 
the  creative  act:  "His  meaning  is,  that  the  world  was  made  out 
of  nothing.  Hence  the  folly  of  those  is  refuted  who  imagine  that 
unformed  matter  existed  from  eternity." 

The  work  of  creation  is  thus  defined  in  2  Maccabees  7  :  28  : 
"  Look  \ipon  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and  all  that  is  therein,  and 
consider  that  God  made  them  of  things  that  were  not ;  and  so  was 
mankind  made  likewise." 

That  this  creative  act  marked  the  commencement  of  the  first  day 
instead  of  preceding  it  by  almost  infinite  ages  is  thus  stated  in 
2  Esdras  0  :  38  :  "  And  I  said,  0  Lord,  thou  spakest  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation,  even  the  first  day,  and  saidst  thus:  Let 
heaven  and  earth  be  made  ;  and  thy  word  was  a  perfect  work." 

Wycliffe's  translation,  the  earliest  of  the  English  versions, 
renders  Gen.  1 :  1,  thus :  "  In  the  first,  made  God  of  naught  heav- 
en and  earth." 


THE    CREATION.  11 

were  finished,  "  and  God  saw  everything  that  he 
had  made,  and  behold,  it  was  very  good."  ^ 

On  the  first  day  of  time  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth.  The  earth  thus  called  in- 
to existence  was  without  form,  and  void ;  and  total 
darkness  covered  the  Creator's  work.  Then  "  God 
said,  Let  there  be  light ;  and  there  was  light." 
"  And  God  divided  the  light  from  the  darkness," 
and  called  the  one  day,  and  the  other  night.^ 

On  the  second  day  of  time  "God  said.  Let 
there  be  a  firmament  [margin,  Heb.,  expansion]  in 
the  midst  of  the  waters,  and  let  it  divide  the  wa- 
ters from  the  waters."  The  dry  land  had  not  yet 
appeared ;  consequently  the  earth  was  covered 
with  water.  As  no  atmosphere  existed,  thick  va- 
pors rested  upon  the  face  of  the  water ;  but  the 
atmosphere  being  now  called  into  existence  by 
the  word  of  the  Creator,  causing  those  elements 
to  unite  which  compose  the  air  we  breathe,  the 
fogs  and  vapors  that  had  rested  upon  the  bosom 
of  the  water  were  borne  aloft  by  it.  This  atmos- 
phere or  expansion  is  called  heaven.^ 

On  the  third  day  of  time  God  gathered  the 
waters  together  and  caused  the  dry  land  to  ap- 
pear. The  gathering  together  of  the  waters 
God  called  seas ;  the  dry  land,  thus  rescued  from 
the  waters,  he  called  earth.  "  And  God  said.  Let 
the  earth  bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding 
seed,  and  the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit  after  his 
kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself,  upon  the  earth  :  and 
it  was  so."     "  And  God  saw  that  it  was  good."  * 

On  the  fourth  day  of  time  "God  said.  Let 
there  be  lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  heaven, 
to  divide  the  day  from  the  night ;  and  let  them 

1  Heb.  11  :  3 ;  Gen.  1.  2  Qen.  1:1-5;  Heb.  1.  ^  Oen.  1 : 

6-8;  Job  37  :  18.  •*  Gen.  1  :  9-13  ;    Ps.  136  :  6  ;  2  Pet.  3  :  5. 


12  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

be  for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days,  and 
years."  "  And  God  made  two  great  lights  ;  the 
greater  light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light 
to  rule  the  night ;  he  made  the  stars  also."  Light 
had  been  created  on  the  first  day  of  the  week ;  and 
now  on  the  fourth  day  he  causes  the  sun  and 
moon  to  appear  as  light-bearers,  and  places  the 
light  under  their  rule.  And  they  continue  unto 
this  day  according  to  his  ordinances,  for  all  are 
his  servants.  Such  was  the  work  of  the  fourth 
day.  And  the  Great  Architect,  surveying  what 
he  had  wrought,  pronounced  it  good.^ 

On  the  fifth  day  of  time  "  God  created  great 
whales,  and  every  living  creature  that  moveth, 
which  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly,  after 
their  kind,  and  every  winged  fowl  after  his 
kind  :  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good."  ^ 

On  the  sixth  day  of  time  "  God  made  the 
beast  of  the  earth  after  his  kind,  and  cattle  after 
their  kind,  and  everything  that  creepeth  upon  the 
earth  after  his  kind :  and  God  saw  that  it  was 
good."  Thus  the  earth,  having  been  fitted  for  the 
purpose,  was  filled  with  every  order  of  living  crea- 
ture, while  the  air  and  waters  teemed  with  animal 
existence.  To  complete  this  noble  work  of  crea- 
tion, God  next  provides  a  ruler,  the  representative 
of  himself,  and  places  all  in  subjection  under  him. 
"  And  God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our  im- 
age, after  our  likeness  :  and  let  them  have  do- 
minion over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the 
fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all 
the  earth,  and  over  every  creeping  thing  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth."  "And  the  Lord  God 
foi-med  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground, and  breathed 


1  Gen.  1 :  14-19  :  P.s.  119  :  91  ;  Jer.  33 :  25.         a  Gen.  1  :  20-23. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  13 

into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ;  and  man  be- 
came a  living  soul.  And  the  Lord  God  planted 
a  garden  eastward  in  Eden  ;  and  there  he  put  the 
man  whom  he  had  formed.  And  out  of  the 
ground  made  the  Lord  God  to  grow  every  tree 
that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and  good  for  food ; 
the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
and  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil." 
Last  of  all,  God  created  Eve,  the  mother  of  all 
living.  The  work  of  the  Creator  was  now  com- 
plete. "  The  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished, 
and  all  the  host  of  them."  "  And  God  saw  every- 
thing that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  it  was  very 
good."  Adam  and  Eve  were  in  paradise;  the 
tree  of  life  bloomed  on  earth  ;  sin  had  not  entered 
our  world,  and  death  was  not  here,  for  there  was 
no  sin.  "  The  morning  stars  sang  together,  and 
all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy."  Thus 
ended  the  sixth  day.^ 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   INSTITUTION   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

Event  on  the  seventh  day — Why  the  Creator  rested — Acts  by 
which  the  Sabbath  was  made — Time  and  order  of  their 
occurrence — Meaning  of  the  word  sanctified — The  fourth 
commandment  refers  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  to  creation 
— The  second  mention  of  the  Sabbath  confirms  this  fact — 
The  Saviour's  testimony — When  did  God  sanctify  the  sev- 
enth day — Object  of  the  Author  of  the  Sabbath — Testimony 
of  Josephus  and  of  Philo — Negative  argument  from  the 
book  of  Genesis  considered — Adam's  knowledge  of  the  Sab- 
bath not  difficult  to  be  known  by  the  patriarchs. 

The  work  of  the  Creator  was  finished,  but  the 
first  week  of  time  was  not  yet  completed.     Each 

1  Gen.  1 :  24-31 ;  2  :  7-9,  18-22 ;  3  :  20;  Job  38  :  7. 


14  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

of  the  six  days  had  been  distmgiiishcd  by  the 
Creator's  work  upon  it;  but  the  seventh  was 
rendered  memorable  in  a  very  different  manner. 
"  And  on  the  seventh  ^  day  God  ended  his  work 
which  he  had  made ;  and  he  rested  on  the  sev- 
enth day  from  all  his  work  which  he  had  made." 
In  yet  stronger  language  it  is  written  :  "  On  the 
seventh  day  he  rested,  and  was  hefkeshed."  ^ 

Thus  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  became  the 
rest-day  of  the  Lord.  How  remarkable  is  this 
fact !  "  The  everlasting  God,  the  Lord,  the 
Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  fainteth  not, 
neither  is  weary."  ^  He  needed  no  rest ;  yet  it  is 
written,  "  On  the  seventh  day  he  rested,  and  was 
refreshed."  Why  does  not  the  record  simply 
state  the  cessation  of  the  Creator's  v/ork  ?  Why 
did  he  at  the  close  of  that  work  employ  a  day  in 
rest  ?  The  answer  will  be  learned  from  the  next 
verse.  He  was  laying  the  foundation  of  a  divine 
institution,  the  memorial  of  his  own  great  work. 

''  And  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sancti- 
fied it ;  because  that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all 
his  work  which  God  created  and  made."  The 
fourth  commandment  states  the  same  fact :  He 
"rested  the  seventh  day;  ivherefore  the  Lord 
blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it."^ 

1  "  On  the  sixth  day  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had  made  ; 
and  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day,"  &c.,  is  the  reading  of  the 
Septuagint,  the  Syriac,  and  the  Samaritan;  "  and  this  should  be 
considered  the  genuine  reading,"  says  Dr.  A.  Clarke.  See  his 
Commentary  on  Gen.  2. 

2Gen.  2:2;  Ex.  31:17.  s  Jsa.  40  :  28. 

4  Gen.  2:0;  Ex.  20  :  11.  In  an  anonymous  work  entitled  "  Mor- 
ality of  the  Fourth  Commandment,"  'London,  1652,  but  not  the 
same  with  that  of  Dr.  Twisse,  of  the  same  title,  is  the  following 
striking  passage  : 

"The  Hebrew  root  for  seven,  signifiea  fullness,  perfection,  and 
the  Jews  held  many  mysteries  to  be  iii  the  number  seven  :  so 
John  in  his  Apocalypse  useth  much  that  number.    As,  seven 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  15 

The  blessing  and  sanctification  of  the  seventh 
day  were  because  that  God  had  rested  upon  it. 
His  resting  upon  it,  then,  was  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  blessing  and  sanctifying  the  day.  His 
being  refreshed  with  this  rest,  implies  that  he 
delighted  in  the  act  which  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  memorial  of  his  great  work. 

The  second  act  of  the  Creator  in  instituting  this 
memorial  was  to  place  his  blessing  upon  the  day 
of  his  rest.  Thenceforward  it  vfas  the  blessed 
rest-day  of  the  Lord.  A  third  act  completes  the 
sacred  institution.  The  day  already  blessed  of 
God  is  now,  last  of  all,  sanctified  or  hallowed  by 
him.  To  sanctify  is  "  to  separate,  set  apart,  or 
appoint  to  a  holy,  sacred,  or  religious  use."  To 
hallow  is '' to  make  holy;  to  consecrate;  to  set 
apart  for  a  holy  or  religious  use."^ 

The  time  when  these  three  acts  were  performed 
is  worthy  of  especial  notice.  The  first  act  was 
that  of  rest.  This  took  place  on  the  seventh  day ; 
for  the  day  was  employed  in  rest.  The  second 
and  third  acts  took  place  when  the  seventh  day 
was  past.  "God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and 
sanctified  it :  because  that  in  it  he  had  rested 
from  all  his  work."     Hence  it  was  on  the  first 


churches,  seven  stars,  sevea  spirits,  seven  candlesticks,  seven 
angels,  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets  ;  and  we  no  sooner  meet  with 
a  seventh  dav,  but  it  is  blessed  ;  no  sooner  with  a  seventh  man 
[Gen.  5  :  24;  Jude  14],  but  he  is  translated."     Page  7. 

1  Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary  on  the  words  sanctify  and 
halloio.     Ed.  1859. 

The  revised  edition  of  1864  gives  this  definition  :  "  To  make  sa- 
cred or  holy  ;  to  set  apart  to  a  holy  or  religious  use  ;  to  conse- 
crate by  ajjpropriat:.'  7'ites  ;  to  hallow.  God  blessed  the  seventh 
day,  and  sanctijied  it.  Gen.  2:3.  Moses  .  .  .  sanctified  Aaron 
and  his  garments.     Lev.  8  :  SO." 

Worcester  defines  it  thus:  "  To  ordain  or  set  apart  to  sacred 
ends;  to  consecrate;  to  hallow.  God  blessed  the  seventh  day 
and  sanctijied  it.     Gen.  2  :  3." 


16  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

day  of  tlie  second  week  of  time  that  God  blessed 
the  seventh  day,  and  set  it  apart  to  a  holy  use. 
The  blessing  and  sanctification  of  the  seventh 
day,  therefore,  relate  not  to  the  first  seventh  day 
of  time,  but  to  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  for 
time  to  come,  in  memory  of  God's  rest  on  that 
day  from  the  work  of  creation. 

With  the  beginning  of  time,  God  began  to 
count  days,  giving  to  each  an  ordinal  number  for 
its  name.  Seven  different  days  receive  as  many 
different  names.  In  memory  of  that  which  he 
did  on  the  last  of  these  days,  he  sets  that  day 
apart  by  7iame  to  a  holy  use.  This  act  gave  ex- 
istence to  weeks,  or  periods  of  seven  days.  For 
with  the  seventh  day,  he  ceased  to  count,  and,  by 
the  divine  appointment  of  that  day  to  a  holy 
use  in  memory  of  his  rest  thereon,  he  causes  man 
to  begin  the  count  of  a  new  week  so  soon  as  the 
first  seventh  day  had  ceased.  And  as  God  has 
been  pleased  to  give  man,  in  all,  but  seven 
different  days,  and  has  given  to  each  one  of  these 
days  a  name  which  indicates  its  exact  place  in 
the  week,  his  act  of  setting  apart  one  of  these 
by  name,  wliich  act  created  weeks  and  gave  man 
the  Sabbath,  can  never — except  by  sophistry — 
be  made  to  relate  to  an  indefinite  or  uncertain 


The  days  of  the  week  are  measured  off  by  the 
revolution  of  our  earth  on  its  axis ;  and  hence 
our  seventh  day,  as  such,  can  come  only  to  dwell- 
ers on  this  globe.  To  Adam  and  Eve,  therefore, 
as  inhabitants  of  this  earth,  and  not  to  the  in- 
habitants of  some  other  world,  were  the  days  of 
the  week  given  to  use.  Hence,  when  God  set 
apart  one  of  these  days  to  a  holy  use  in  memory 
of  his  own  rest  on  that  day  of  the  week,  the  very 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  17 

essence  of  the  act  consisted  in  his  telling  Adam 
that  this  day  should  be  used  only  for  sacred  pur- 
poses. Adam  was  then  in  the  garden  of  God, 
placed  there  by  the  Creator  to  dress  it  and  to 
keep  it.  He  was  also  commissioned  of  God  to 
subdue  the  earth .^  When  therefore  the  rest-day 
of  the  Lord  should  return,  from  week  to  week,  all 
this  secular  employment,  however  proper  in  it- 
self, must  be  laid  aside,  and  the  day  observed  in 
memory  of  the  Creator's  rest. 

Dr.  Twisse  quotes  Martin  Luther  thus : 

"And  Martin  Lntlier  professetli  as  much  (tome  vi.  in 
Gen.  2:3).  '  It  follows  from  lience,'  saith  he,  'that,  if 
Adam  had  stood  in  his  innocency,  yet  he  should  have 
kept  the  seventh  day  holy,  that  is,  on  that  day  he  should 
have  taught  his  children,  and  children's  children,  what 
was  the  will  of  God,  and  wherein  his  worship  did  consist  ; 
he  should  have  praised  God,  given  thanks,  and  offered. 
On  other  days  he  should  have  tilled  his  ground,  looked 
to  his  cattle.'  "^ 

The  Hebrew  verb,  kadash,  here  rendered  sanc- 
tified, and  in  the  fourth  commandment  rendered 
haUoiced,  is  defined  by  Gesenius,  "  To  pronounce 
holy,  to  sanctify ;  to  institute  any  holy  thing,  to 
appoint."^  It  is  repeatedly  used  in  the  Old  Test- 
ament for  a  public  appointment  or  proclamation. 
Thus,  when  the  cities  of  refuge  were  set  apart  in 
Israel,  it  is  written  :  "  They  appointed  [margin, 
Heb.,  sanctified]  Kedesh  in  Galilee  in  Mount 
Naphtali,  and  Shechem  in  Mount  Ephraim,"  &c. 
This  sanctification  or  appointment  of  the  cities  of 
refuge  was  by  a  public  announcement  to  Israel 
that  these  cities  were  set  apart  for  that  purpose. 

1  Gen.  2  :  15  ;  1  :  28. 

3  Morality  of  the  Fourth  Commandment,  pp.  56,  57,  London, 
1641. 

3  Hebrew  Lexicon,  p.  914,  ed.  1854. 


18  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

This  verb  is  also  used  for  tlie  appointment  of  a 
public  fast,  and  for  the  gathering  of  a  solemn 
assembly.  Thus  it  is  written :  "  Sanctify  [i.  e., 
appoint]  ye  a  fast,  call  a  solemn  assembly,  gather 
the  elders  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  into 
the  house  of  the  Lord  your  God."  "  Blow  the 
trumpet  in  Zion,  sanctify  [i.  c,  ajDpoint]  a  fast, 
call  a  solemn  assembly.''  "  And  Jehu  said.  Pro- 
claim [margin,  Heb.,  sanctify]  a  solemn  assembly 
for  Baal."^  This  appointment  for  Baal  was  so 
public  that  all  the  worshipers  of  Baal  in  all  Israel 
were  gathered  together.  These  fasts  and  solemn 
assemblies  were  sanctified  or  set  apart  by  a  public 
appointment  or  proclamation  of  the  fact.  When 
therefore  God  set  apart  the  seventh  day  to  a  holy 
use,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  state  that  fact 
to  those  who  had  the  days  of  the  week  to  use. 
Without  such  announcement  the  day  could  not 
be  set  apart  from  the  others. 

But  the  most  strikinsr  illustration  of  the  mean- 
mg  of  this  word  may  be  found  in  the  record  of 
the  sanctification  of  Mount  Sinai.^  When  God 
was  about  to  speak  the  ten  connnandments  in  the 
hearing  of  all  Israel,  he  sent  Moses  down  from 
the  top  of  Mount  Sinai  to  restrain  the  people  from 
touching  the  mount.  "  And  Moses  said  unto  the 
Lord,  The  people  cannot  come  up  to  Mount  Sinai ; 
for  thou  chargedst  us,  saying,  Set  bounds  about 
the  mount,  and  sa  nctify  it"  Turning  back  to  the 
verse  where  God  gave  this  charge  to  Moses,  we 
read :  "  And  thou  shalt  set  bounds  unto  tlie  peo- 
ple roundabout,  saying,  Take  heed  to  yourselves, 
that  ye  go  not  up  into  the  mount  or  touch  the 
border  of  it."     Hence  to  sanctify  the  mount  was 

1  Jnsh.  20  :  7  ;  Joel  1  :  U  ;  2:15;  2  Kings  10  :  20,  21 ;  Zeph.  1 
7,  margin.  "^Ex.  19:12,  23. 


INSTITUTION    OF    ^IlE    SABBATH.  19 

to  command  the  people  not  to  touch  even  the 
border  of  it;  for  God  was  about  to  descend  in 
majesty  upon  it.  In  other  words,  to  sanctify  or 
set  apart  to  a  holy  use  Mount  Sinai,  was  to  tell 
the  people  that  God  would  have  them  treat  the 
mountain  as  sacred  to  himself  And  thus  also  to 
sanctify  the  rest-day  of  the  Lord  was  to  tell  Adam 
that  he  should  treat  the  day  as  holy  to  the  Lord. 
The  declaration,  "  God  blessed  the  seventh  day, 
and  sanctified  it/'  is  not  indeed  a  commandment 
for  the  observance  of  that  day ;  but  it  is  the  rec- 
ord that  such  a  precept  was  given  to  Adam.^  For 
how  could  the  Creator  ''set  apart  to  a  holy  use"^ 
the  day  of  his  rest,  when  those  who  vfere  to  use 
the  day  knew  nothing  of  his  will  in  the  case  ? 
Let  those  answer  who  are  able. 


1  Dr.  Lange's  Commentary  speaks  on  this  point  thus,  in  vol. 
i,  p.  197  :  "  If  we  had  no  other  passage  than  this  of  Gen.  2 :  3, 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  deducing  from  it  a  precept  for  the 
universal  observance  of  a  Sabbath,  or  seventh  day,  to  be  devoted 
to  God,  as  holy  time,  by  all  of  that  race  for  whom  the  earth  and 
its  nature  were  specially  prepared.  The  first  men  must  have 
known  it.  The  words,  *  He  hallowed  it,'  can  have  no  meaning 
otherwise.  They  would  be  a  blank  unless  in  reference  to  some 
who  were  required  to  keep  it  holy." 

Dr.  Nicholas  Bound,  in  his  "True  Doctrine  of  the  Sabbath," 
London,  1606,  page  7,  thus  states  the  antiquity  of  the  Sabbath 
precept: 

"This  first  commandment  of  the  Sabbath  was  no  more  then 
first  given  when  it  was  pronounced  from  Heaven  by  the  Lord, 
than  any  other  one  of  the  moral  precepts,  nay,  that  it  hath  so 
much  antiquity  as  the  seventh  day  hath  being ;  for,  so  soon  as 
the  day  was,"  so  soon  was  it  sanctified,  that  we  might  know 
that,  as  it  came  in  with  the  first  man,  so  it  must  not  go  out  but 
with  the  last  man  ;  and  as  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
so  it  must  continue  to  the  end  of  the  same ;  and,  as  the  first  sev- 
enth day  was  sanctified,  so  must  the  last  be.  And  this  is  that 
which  one  saith,  that  the  Sabbath  was  commanded  by  God,  and 
the  seventh  day  was  sanctified  of  him  even  from  the' beginning 
of  the  world;  where  (the  latter  words  expounding  the  former) 
he  showeth  that,  when  God  did  sanclif}^  it,  then  also  he  com- 
manded it  to  be  kept  holy;  and  therefore  look  how  ancient  the 
sanctification  of  the  day  is,  the  same  antiquity  also  as  the  com- 
mandment of  keeping  it  holy  ;  for  they  two  are  all  one." 


20  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

This  view  of  the  record  in  Genesis  we  shall 
find  to  be  sustained  by  all  the  testimony  in  the 
Bible  relative  to  the  rest-day  of  the  Lord.  The 
facts  which  we  have  examined  are  the  basis  of 
the  fourth  commandment.  Thus  spake  the  great 
Law-giver  from  the  summit  of  the  flaming  mount : 
''  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy." 
"  The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God."  "  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven 
and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and 
rested  the  seventh  day:  wherefore  the  Lord 
blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it."^ 

The  term  Sabbath  is  transferred  from  the  He- 
brew language,  and  signifies  rest.^  The  command, 
"  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy,"  is 
therefore  exactly  equivalent  to  saying,  "  Remem- 
ber the  rest-da}^,  to  keep  it  holy."  The  explana- 
tion which  follows  sustains  this  statement :  "  The 
seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  [or  rest-day]  of  the 
Lord  thy  God."  The  origin  of  this  rest-day  is 
given  in  these  words  :  "  For  in  six  days  the  Lord 
made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in 
them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day :  wherefore 
the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed 
it."  That  which  is  enjoined  in  the  fourth  com- 
mandment is  to  keep  holy  the  rest-day  of  the 
Lord.  And  this  is  defined  to  be  the  day  on  which 
he  rested  from  the  work  of  creation.  Moreover, 
the  fourth  commandment  calls  the  seventh  day 
the  Sabbath  day  at  the  time  when  God  blessed 
and  hallowed  that  day ;  therefore  the  Sabbath  is 
an  institution  dating  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.     The  fourth  commandment  points  back  to 


lEx.  20:8-11. 

2 Buck's  Theological   Dictionary,   article,    Sabbath;    Calmet's 
Dictionary,  article,  Sabbath. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  21 

the  creation  for  the  origin  of  its  obligation ;  and 
when  we  go  back  to  that  point,  we  find  the  sub- 
stance of  the  fourth  commandment  given  to 
Adam  :  "  God  blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sanc- 
tified it ;"  i.  e.,  set  it  apart  to  a  holy  use.  And 
in  the  commandment  itself,  the  same  fact  is  stat- 
ed :  "  The  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hal- 
lowed it ;"  i.  e.,  appointed  it  to  a  holy  use.  The 
one  statement  affirms  that  "  God  blessed  the  sev- 
enth day,  and  sanctified  it ;"  the  other,  that  "  the 
Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it." 
These  two  statements  refer  to  the  same  acts. 
Because  the  word  Sabbath  does  not  occur  in  the 
first  statement,  it  has  been  contended  that  the 
Sabbath  did  not  originate  at  creation,  it  being 
the  seventh  day  merely  which  was  hallowed. 
From  the  second  statement,  it  has  been  contended 
that  God  did  not  bless  the  seventh  day  at  all,  but 
simply  the  Sabbath  institution.  But  both  state- 
ments embody  all  the  truth.  God  blessed  the 
seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it ;  and  this  day  thus 
blessed  and  hallowed  was  his  holy  Sabbath,  or 
rest-day.  Thus  the  fourth  commandment  estab- 
lishes the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  at  creation. 

The  second  mention  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  Bi- 
ble furnishes  a  decisive  confirmation  of  the  testi- 
monies already  adduced.  On  the  sixth  day  of  the 
week,  Moses,  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  said  to  Is- 
rael, "  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath 
unto  the  Lord."^  What  had  been  done  to  the 
seventh  day  since  God  blessed  and  sanctified  it  as 
his  rest-day  in  paradise  ?  Nothing.  What  did 
Moses  do  to  the  seventh  day  to  make  it  the  rest 
of  the  holy  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord  ?     Nothing. 

lEx.  16:  22,23. 


22  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Moses  on  the  sixth  day  simply  states  the  fact 
that  the  moi-row  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath 
unto  the  Lord.  The  seventh  day  had  l-'jcn  such 
ever  since  God  blessed  and  hallowed  the  day  of 
his  rest. 

The  testimony  of  our  divine  Lord  relative  to 
the  origin  and  design  of  the  Sabbath  is  of  pecul- 
iar importance.  He  is  competent  to  testify,  for 
he  was  with  the  Father  in  the  beginning  of  the 
creation.^  "The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man," 
said  he,  "  not  man  for  the  Sabbath." ""  The  fol- 
lowing grammatical  rule  is  Vv^orthy  of  notice  :  "  A 
noun  without  an  adjective  is  invariably  taken  in 
its  broadest  extension,  as  :  Man  is  accountable."  ^ 
The  following  texts  will  illustrate  this  rule,  and 
also  this  statement  of  our  Lord's:  "Man  lietli 
down  and  riseth  not :  till  the  heavens  be  no  more, 
they  shall  not  av/ake,  nor  be  raised  out  of  their 
sleep."  "There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you 
but  such  as  is  common  to  man."  "  It  is  appoint- 
ed unto  men  once  to  die."  ^  In  these  texts  man 
is  used  without  restriction,  and,  therefore,  all 
mankind  are  necessarily  intended.  The  Sabbath 
was  therefore  made  for  the  whole  human  family, 
and  consequently  originated  with  mankind.  But 
the  Saviour's  language  is  even  yet  more  emphatic 
in  the  original :  "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  the 
man,  not  the  man  for  the  Sabbath."  This  lan- 
guage fixes  the  mind  on  the  man  Adam,  who  was 
made  of  the  dust  of  the  gi'ound  just  before  the 
Sabbath  was  made  for  him,  of  the  seventh  day. 

This  is  a  striking  confirmation  of  the  fact  al- 


1  John  1:1-3;  Gen.  1 :  1,  20  ;  Col.  1  :  13-lG.  2  Mark  £  :  27. 

3  Barrett's  Principles  of  English  Grammar,  p.  29. 

4  Job  U  :  12  ;  1  Cor.  10  :  13 ;  Hob.  9  :  27. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  23 

ready  pointed  out  that  the  Sabbath  was  given  to 
Adam,  the  head  of  the  human  famil}^ 

"  The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
thy  God;  yet  he  made  the  Sabbath  for  man. 
"  God  made  the  Sabbath  his  by  solemn  appropri- 
ation, that  he  might  convey  it  back  to  us  under 
the  g-uarantee  of  a  divine  charter,  that  none 
might  rob  us  of  it  mth  impunity." 

But  is  it  not  possible  that  God's  act  of  blessing 
and  sanctifying  the  seventh  day  did  not  occur  at 
the  close  of  the  creation  week  ?  May  it  not  be 
mentioned  then  because  God  designed  that  the 
day  of  his  rest  should  be  afterward  observed  ?  Or 
rather,  as  Moses  ^\T^'ote  the  book  of  Genesis  long 
after  the  creation,  might  he  not  insert  this  account 
of  the  sanctification  of  the  seventh  day  v/ith  the 
record  of  the  first  week,  though  the  day  itself 
was  sanctified  in  his  own  time  ? 

It  is  veiy  certain  that  such  an  interpretation 
of  the  record  cannot  be  admitted,  unless  the  facts 
in  the  case  demand  it.  For  it  is,  to  say  the  least, 
a  forced  explanation  of  the  language.  The  record 
in  Genesis,  unless  this  be  an  exception,  is  a  plain 
narrative  of  events.  Thus  what  God  did  on  each 
day  is  recorded  in  its  order  down  to  the  seventh. 
It  is  certainly  doing  violence  to  the  narrative  to 
afiirm  that  the  record  respecting  the  seventh  day 
is  of  a  different  character  from  that  respecting 
the  other  six.  He  rested  the  seventh  day;  he 
sanctified  the  seventh  day  because  he  had  rested 
upon  it.  The  reason  why  he  should  sanctify  the 
seventh  day  existed  when  his  rest  was  closed. 
To  say,  therefore,  that  God  did  not  sanctify  the 
day  at  that  time,  but  did  it  in  the  days  of  Moses, 
is  not  only  to  distort  the  narrative,  but  to  afiirm 
tliat  he  neglected  to  do  that  for  which  the  reason 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

existed  at  creation,  until  twenty-five  hundred 
years  after, ^ 

But  we  ask  that  the  facts  be  brought  forw^ard 
which  prove  that  the  Sabbath  was  sanctified  in 
the  wilderness  of  Sin,  and  not  at  creation.  And 
what  are  the  facts  that  show  this  ?  It  is  con- 
fessed that  such  facts  are  not  upon  record.  Their 
existence  is  assumed  in  order  to  sustain  the  the- 
ory that  the  Sabbath  originated  at  the  fall  of  the 
manna,  and  not  in  paradise. 

Did  God  sanctify  the  Sabbath  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sin  ?  There  is  no  intimation  of  such  fact. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  mentioned  at  that  time  as 
something  already  set  apart  of  God.  On  the  sixth 
day  Moses  said,  "  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the 
holy  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord."^  Surely  this  is 
not  the  act  of  instituting  the  Sabbath,  but  the 
familiar  mention  of  an  existing  fact.  We  pass  on 
to  Mount  Sinai.  Did  God  sanctify  the  Sabbath 
when  he  spoke  the  ten  commandments "?  No  one 
claims  that  he  did.  It  is  admitted  by  all  that 
Moses  spoke  of  it  familiarly  the  previous  month.^ 
Does  the  Lord  at  Sinai  speak  of  the  sanctification 
of  the  Sabbath  ?  He  does  ;  but  in  the  very  lan- 
guage of  Genesis  he  goes  back  for  the  sanctifica- 
tion of  the  Sabbath,  not  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
but  to  the  creation  of  the  Avorld.*     We  ask  those 


1  Dr.  Twisse  illustrates  the  absurdity  of  that  view  which  makes 
the  first  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  memory  of  creation  to  have 
begun  some  2500  years  after  that  event :  **  We  read  that  when  the 
Ilienses,  inhabitants  of  Ilium,  called  anciently  by  tlie  name  of 
Troy,  sent  an  embassage  to  Tiberius,  to  condole  the  death  of  his 
father  Augustus,  he,  considering  the  unseasonablencss  thereof,  it 
being  a  long  time  after  his  death,  requited  them  accordingly,  say- 
ing thai  he  was  sorry  for  their  heaviness  also,  having  lost  so  re- 
nowned a  knight  as'  Hector  was,  to  wit,  above  a  thousand  years 
before,  in  the  wars  of  Troy." — Morality  of  the  Fourth  Coin- 
mandment,  p.  198.        2  Ex.  Ifi  :  23.       ^  Ex.  16.       ^  Ex.  20  :  8-11. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  25 

who  hold  the  theory  under  examination,  this 
question:  If  the  Sabbath  was  not  sanctified  at 
creation,  but  was  sanctified  in  the  wilderness  of 
Sin,  why  does  the  narrative  in  each  instance  ^  re- 
cord the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath  at  creation 
and  omit  all  mention  of  such  fact  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sin  ?  Nay,  why  does  the  record  of  events 
in  the  wilderness  of  Sin  show  that  the  holy  Sab- 
bath was  at  that  time  already  in  existence  ?  In  a 
word.  How  can  a  theory  subversive  of  all  the 
facts  in  the  recoixl,  be  maintained  as  the  truth  of 
God? 

We  have  seen  the  Sabbath  ordained  of  God  at 
the  close  of  the  creation  week.  The  object  of  its 
Author  is  worthy  of  especial  attention.  Why 
did  the  Creator  set  up  this  memorial  in  paradise  ? 
Why  did  he  set  apart  from  the  other  days  of  the 
week  that  day  which  he  had  employed  in  rest  ? 
''  Because  that  in  it,"  says  the  record,  "  he  had 
rested  from  all  his  work  which  God  created  and 
made."  A  rest  necessarily  implies  a  vjork  per- 
formed. And  hence  the  Sabbath  was  ordained 
of  God  as  a  memorial  of  the  work  of  creation. 
And  therefore  that  precept  of  the  moral  law 
which  relates  to  this  memorial,  unlike  every  other 
precept  of  that  law,  begins  with  the  word,  "  Re- 
member." The  importance  of  this  memorial  will 
be  appreciated  when  we  learn  from  the  Scriptures 
that  it  is  the  work  of  creation  which  is  claimed 
by  its  Author  as  the  great  evidence  of  his  eternal 
power  and  Godhead,  and  as  that  great  fact  which 
distinguishes  him  from  all  false  gods.  Thus  it  is 
written : 

''He  that  built  all  things  is  God."     "The  gods  that 

1  Compare  Gen.  2:1-3;  Ex.  20  :  8-11. 
Sabbath  History.  tl 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

have  not  made  tlie  heavens  and  the  earth,  cvontlicy  shall 
perish  from  the  earth,  and  from  nnder  these  heavens." 
"  But  the  Lord  is  the  true  God,  he  is  tlie  living  God,  and 
an  everlasting  King."  "He  hath  made  the  earth  by  his 
power,  he  hath  established  the  world  by  his  "vvisdom,  and 
hath  stretched  out  the  heavens  by  his  discreticn."  ''  For 
the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the  world 
are  clearl}'  seen,  being  understood  ])y  the  things  that  are 
made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead."  "For  he 
spake,  and  it  was  done  ;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 
Thus  "  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so 
that  things  which  are  seen  were  not  made  of  things 
which  do  appear."  ^ 

Such  is  the  estimate  which  the  Scriptures  place 
upon  the  work  of  creation  as  evincing  the  eternal 
power  and  Godhead  of  the  Creator.  The  Sabbath 
stands  as  the  memorial  of  this  great  work.  Its 
observance  is  an  act  of  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment on  the  part  of  his  intelligent  creatures  that 
he  is  their  Creator,  and  that  they  owe  all  to  him  ; 
and  that  for  his  pleasure  they  are  and  were  created. 
How  appropriate  this  observance  for  Adam  !  And 
when  man  had  fallen,  how  important  for  his  well- 
being  that  he  should  ''remember  the  Sabbath  day, 
to  keep  it  holy."  He  would  thus  have  been  pre- 
served from  atheism  and  from  idolatry;  for  he 
could  never  forget  that  there  was  a  God  from 
whom  all  things  derived  their  being ;  nor  could 
he  worship  as  God  any  other  being  than  the  Cre- 
ator. 

The  seventh  day,  as  hallowed  by  God  in  Eden, 
was  not  Jewish,  but  divine ;  it  was  not  the  memo- 
rial of  the  flight  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  but  of  the 
Creator's  rest.  Nor  is  it  true  that  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Jewish  writers  deny  the  primeval  or- 
igin of  the  Sabbath,  or  claim  it  as  a  Jewish  me- 

iHeb.  3:4;  Jer.  10:10-12;   Rom.  1 :  20  ;   Ps.  33  :  0;  Ileb.  11 :3. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  27 

morial.  We  cite  the  historian  Josephus  and  his 
learned  cotemporaiy,  Philo  Jud?eus.  Josephus, 
whose  "Antiquities  of  the  Jews  "  run  parallel  with 
the  Bible  from  the  beginning,  when  treating  of 
the  wilderness  of  Sin,  makes  no  allusion  whatever 
to  the  Sabbath,  a  clear  proof  that  he  had  no  idea 
that  it  originated  in  that  wilderness.  But  when 
ffivinor  the  account  of  creation,  he  bears  the  fol- 
lowing  testimony : 

"Moses  says  that  m  just  six  days  tlie  world  and  all  that 
is  therein  "vras  made.  And  that  the  seventh  day  was  a 
rest  and  a  release  from  the  labor  of  such  operations  ; 
WHENCE  it  is  that  we  celebrate  a  rest  from  our  labor  on 
that  day,  and  call  it  the  Sabbath  ;  wliich  word  denotes 
rest  in  the  Hebrew  tongue."  ^ 

And  Philo  bears  a.n  emphatic  testimony  rela- 
tive to  the  character  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  memo- 
rial.    Thus  he  says : 

"But  after  the  whole  world  had  been  completed  ac- 
cording to  the  perfect  nature  of  the  number  six,  the  Fa- 
ther hallowed  the  day  foUmving,  the  seventh,  praising  it 
and  calling  it  holy.  For  that  day  is  the  festival,  not  of 
one  city  or  one  country,  but  of  all  the  earth  ;  a  day  which 
alone  it  is  right  to  call  the  day  of  festival  for  all  people, 
and  the  birth-day  of  the  world."  ^ 

Nor  was  the  rest-day  of  the  Lord  a  shadow  of 
man's  rest  after  his  recovery  from  the  fall.  God 
will  ever  be  worshiped  in  an  understanding  man- 
ner by  his  intelligent  creatures.  When  therefore 
he  set  apart  his  rest-day  to  a  holy  use,  if  it  was 
not  as  a  memorial  of  his  work,  but  as  a  shadow 
of  man's  redemption  from  the  fall,  the  real  design 
of  the  institution  must  have  been  stated,  and,  as 
a  consequence,  man  in  his  unfallen  state  could 

1  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  b.  i.  chap.  i.  sect.  1. 

2  Works,  vol.  i.  The  Creation  of  the  World,  sect.  30. 


28  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

never  observe  the  Sabbath  as  a  delight,  but  ever 
with  deep  distress,  as  reminding  him  that  he  was 
soon  to  apostatize  from  God.  Nor  was  the  holy 
of  the  Lord  and  honorable,  one  of  the  "carnal 
ordinances  imposed  on  them  until  the  time  of 
reformation ;"  ^  for  there  could  be  no  reformation 
with  unfallen  beinors. 

o 

But  man  did  not  continue  in  his  uprightness. 
Paradise  was  lost,  and  Adam  was  excluded  from 
the  tree  of  life.  The  curse  of  God  fell  upon  the 
earth,  and  death  entered  by  sin,  and  passed  upon 
all  men.^  After  this  sad  apostasy,  no  further 
mention  of  the  Sabbath  occurs  until  Moses  on  the 
sixth  day  said,  ''  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy 
Sabbath  unto  the  Lord." 

It  is  objected  that  there  is  no  precept  in  the 
book  of  Genesis  for  the  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath, and  consequently  no  obligation  on  the  part 
of  the  patriarchs  to  observe  it.  There  is  a  defect 
in  this  argument  not  noticed  by  those  who  use  it. 
The  book  of  Genesis  was  hot  a  rule  given  to  the 
patriarchs  to  walk  by.  On  the  contrary,  it  was 
written  by  Moses  2500  years  after  creation,  and 
long  after  the  patriarchs  were  dead.  Conse- 
quently the  fact  that  certain  precepts  were  not 
found  in  Genesis  is  no  evidence  that  they  were 
not  obligatory  upon  tlie  patriarchs.  Thus  the 
book  does  not  command  men  to  love  God  with 
all  their  hearts,  and  their  neighbors  as  themselves ; 
nor  docs  it  prohibit  idolatry,  blasphemy,  disobe- 
dience to  parents,  adultery,  theft,  false  witness 
or  covetousness.  Who  will  affirm  from  this  that 
the  patriarchs  were  under  no  restraint  in  these 
things  ?  As  a  mere  record  of  events,  writtfiu 
long  after  their  occurrence,  it  was  not  necessary 


1  Isa.  58  :  13,  14;  Ileb  ft :  10.  ^Gen.  3  ;  Rom.  5  :  12. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  29 

that  the  book  should  contain  a  moral  code.  But 
had  the  book  been  given  to  the  patriarchs  as  a 
rule  of  life,  it  must  of  necessity  have  contained 
such  a  code.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  especial  no- 
tice that  as  soon  as  Moses  reaches  his  own  time  in 
the  book  of  Exodus,  the  whole  moral  law  is  given. 
The  record  and  the  people  were  then  cotempo- 
rary,  and  ever  afterward  the  written  law  is  in 
the  hands  of  God's  people,  as  a  rule  of  life,  and  a 
complete  code  of  moral  precepts. 

The  argument  under  consideration  is  unsound, 
1.  Because  based  upon  the  supposition  that  the 
book  of  Genesis  was  the  rule  of  life  for  the  patri- 
archs ;  2.  Becpvuse  if  carried  out  it  would  release 
the  patriarchs  from  every  precept  of  the  moral 
law  except  the  sixth.^  3.  Because  the  act  of 
God  in  setting  apart  his  rest-day  to  a  holy  use, 
as  we  have  seen,  necessarily  involves  the  fact  that 
he  gave  a  precept  concerning  it  to  Adam,  in 
whose  time  it  was  thus  set  apart.  And  hence, 
though  the  book  of  Genesis  contains  no  precept 
concerning  the  Sabbath,  it  does  contain  direct 
evidence  that  such  precept  was  given  to  the  head 
and  representative  of  the  human  family. 

After  giving  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath, 
the  book  of  Genesis,  in  its  brief  record  of  2870 
years,  does  not  again  mention  it.  This  has  been 
urged  as  ample  proof  that  those  holy  men,  who, 
during  this  period,  were  perfect,  and  walked  with 
God  in  the  observance  of  his  commandments, 
statutes  and  laws,^  all  lived  in  open  profanation 
of  that  day  which  God  had  blessed  and  set  apart 
to  a  holy  use.  But  the  book  of  Genesis  also  omits 
any  distinct  reference  to  the  doctrine  of  future 
punishment,  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  the  rev- 

1  Gen.  9  :  5.  7.  2  Gen.  5  :  24  ;  6:9;  20  :  5. 


30  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

elation  of  the  Lord  in  flaming  fire,  and  the  Judg- 
ment of  the  great  day.  Does  this  silence  prove 
that  the  patriarchs  did  not  believe  these  great 
doctrines  ?  Does  it  make  them  any  the  less  sa- 
cred ? 

But  the  Sabbath  is  not  mentioned  from  Moses 
to  David,  a  period  of  five  hundred  years,  during 
which  it  was  enforced  by  the  penalty  of  death. 
Does  this  prove  that  it  was  not  observed  during 
this  period  ?  ^  The  jubilee  occupied  a  very  prom- 
inent place  in  the  typical  system,  yet  in  the  whole 
Bible  a  sin  ale  instance  of  its  observance  is  not  re- 
corded.  What  is  still  more  remarkable,  there  is 
not  on  record  a  single  instance  of  the  observance 
of  the  great  day  of  atonement,  notwithstanding 
the  work  in  the  holiest  on  that  day  was  the  most 
important  service  connected  with  the  worldly 
sanctuary.  And  yet  the  observance  of  the  other 
and  less  important  festivals  of  the  seventh  month, 
which  are  so  intimately  connected  with  the  day 
of  atonement,  the  one  preceding  it  by  ten  days, 
the  other  following  it  in  five,  is  repeatedly  and 
particularly  recorded.^  It  would  be  sophistry  to 
argue  from  this  silence  respecting  the  day  of 
atonement,  when  there  were  so  many  instances 
in  which  its  mention  was  almost  demanded,  that 
that  day  was  never  observed  ;  and  yet  it  is  actu- 
ally a  better  argument  than  the  similar  one  urged 
against  the  Sabbath  from  the  book  of  Genesis. 

The  reckoning  of  time  by  weeks  is  derived 
from  nothing  in  nature,  but  owes  its  existence  to 
the  divine  appointment  of  the  seventh  day  to  a 

^See  the  beginning  of  chap.  viii.  of  this  work. 
2  Ezra   3:1-0;    Neh.    8:2,    9-12,    14-18;    1    Kings  8:2,   Go;  2 
Chron.  5:3;  7  :  8,  D  ;  John  7  :  2-14,  37. 


INSTITUTION    OF    THE    SABBATH.  31 

holy  use  in  memory  of  the  Lord's  rest  from  the 
six  days'  work  of  creation.^  This  period  of  time 
is  marked  only  by  the  recurrence  of  the  sancti- 
fied rest-day  of  the  Creator.  That  the  patriarchs 
reckoned  time  by  weeks  and  by  sevens  of  days, 
is  evident  from  several  texts.^  That  they  should 
retain  the  week  and  forget  the  Sabbath  by  which 
alone  the  week  is  marked,  is  not  a  probable  con- 
clusion. That  the  reckoning  of  the  week  was 
riglitly  kept  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  in  the 
wilderness  of  Sin  on  the  sixth  day  the  people,  of 
their  own  accord,  gathered  a  double  portion  of 
manna.  And  Moses  said  to  them,  "To-moiTOW 
is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord."  ^ 
The  brevity  of  the  record  in  Genesis  causes  us 
to  overlook  many  facts  of  the  deepest  interest. 
Adam  lived  930  years.  How  deep  and  absorb- 
ing the  interest  that  must  have  existed  in  the 
human  family  to  see  the  first  man  !  To  converse 
with  one  who  had  himself  talked  with  God  !  To 
hear  from  his  lips  a  description  of  that  paradise 
in  which  he  had  lived  !  To  learn  from  one  cre- 
ated on  the  sixth  day  the  wondrous  events  of  the 
creation  week !     To  hear  from  his  lips  the  very 

1  "The  week,  another  primeval  measure,  is  not  a  natural  meas- 
ure of  time,  as  some  astronomers  and  chronologers  have  sup- 
posed, indicated  bj  the  phases  or  quarters  of  the  moon.  It  was 
originated  by  divine  appointment  at  the  creation— six  davs  of  la- 
bor and  one  of  rest  being  wisely  appointed  for  man's  physical  and 
spiritual  well-being." — Miss'  Sacred  Chronology,  p.  6;  Hale's 
Chronology,  vol.  i.  p.  19, 

"Seven  has  been  the  ancient  and  honored  number  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  They  have  measured  their  time  by  weeks 
from  the  beginning.  The  original  of  this  was  the  Sabbath  of 
God,  as  Moses  has  given  the  reasons  of  it  in  his  writings." — 
Brief  Dissertation  on  the  first  three  Chapters  of  Genesis,  ly  Dr. 
Coleman,  p.  26. 

2  Gen.  29  :  27,  28  ;  8  :  10,  12  ;  7  :  4,  10  ;  50  :  10  ;  Ex.  7:25;  Job 
2  :  13.  3  Ex.  16  :  22,  23. 


32  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABP.ATII. 

words  of  the  Creator  when  he  set  apart  his  rest- 
day  to  a  holy  use  !  And  to  learn,  alas  !  the  sad 
story  of  the  loss  of  paradise  and  the  tree  of  life  !  ^ 
It  was  therefore  not  difficult  for  the  facts  re- 
specting the  six  days  of  creation  and  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  rest-day  to  be  diffused  among  man- 
kind in  the  patriarchal  age.  Nay,  it  was  impos- 
sible that  it  should  be  otherwise,  especially  among 
the  godly.  From  Adam  to  Abraham  a  succession 
of  tnen — probably  inspired  of  God — preserved 
the  knowledge  of  God  upon  earth.  Thus  Adam 
lived  till  Lamech,  the  father  of  Noah,  was  56 
years  of  age  ;  Lamech  lived  till  Shem,  the  son  of 
Noah,  was  93 ;  Shem  lived  till  Abraham  was  150 
years  of  age.  Thus  are  we  brought  down  to 
Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful.  Of  him  it 
is  recorded  that  he  obeyed  God's  voice  and  kept 
his  charge,  his  commandments,  his  statutes,  and 
his  laws.  And  of  him  the  Most  High  bears  the 
following  testimony :  "  I  know  him,  that  he  will 
command  his  children  and  his  household  after 
him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to 
do  justice  and  judgment."^  The  knowledge  of 
God  was  preserved  in  the  family  of  Abraham; 
and  we  shall  next  find  the  Sabbatli  familiarly 
mentioned  among  his  posterity,  as  an  existing  in- 
stitution. 


1  The  interest  to  see  the  first  man  is  thus  stated:  "Sem  and 
Seth  were  in  great  honor  among  men.  and  so  was  Adam  above 
every  living  thing  in  the  creation."     Ecclesiasticus  4'J  :  IG. 

2 Gen.  26:5;  18:10. 


SABBATH    TO    THE    HEBREWS.  33 


CHAPTEE    III. 

THE    SABBATH    COMMITTED   TO    THE   HEBREWS. 

Object  of  this  chapter — Total  apostasy  of  the  human  family 
in  the  antediluvian  age — Destruction  of  mankind-^The 
family  of  Noah  spared — Second  apostasy  of  mankind  in  the 
patriarchal  age — The  apostate  nations  left  to  their  own 
ways — The  family  of  Abraham  chosen — Separated  from 
the  rest  of  mankind — Their  history — Their  relation  to  God 
— The  Sabbath  in  existence  when  they  came  forth  from 
Egypt — Analysis  of  Ex.  IG — The  Sabbath  committed  to 
the  Hebrews. 

We  are  now  to  trace  the  history  of  divine  truth 
for  many  ages  in  ahnost  exclusive  connection  with 
the  family  of  Abraham.  That  we  may  vindicate 
the  truth  from  the  reproach  of  pertaining  only  to 
the  Hebrews — a  reproach  often  urged  against  the 
Sabbath — and  justify  the  dealings  of  God  with 
mankind  in  leaving  to  their  own  ways  the  apostate 
nations,  let  us  carefully  examine  the  Bible  for  the 
reasons  which  directed  divine  Providence  in  the 
choice  of  Abraham's  family  as  the  despositaries  of 
divine  truth. 

The  antediluvian  world  had  been  highly  favored 
of  God.  The  period  of  life  extended  to  each  gen- 
eration was  twelve-fold  that  of  the  present  age  of 
man.  For  almost  one  thousand  years,  Adam,  who 
had  conversed  with  God  in  paradise,  had  been 
with  them.  Before  the  death  of  Adam,  Enoch 
began  his  holy  walk  of  three  hundred  years,  and 
then  he  was  translated  that  he  should  not  see 
death.  This  testimony  to  the  piety  of  Enoch  was 
a  powerful  testimony  to  the  antediluvians  in  be- 
half of  truth  and  righteousness.  Moreover  the 
Spirit  of  God  strove  with  mankind ;  but  the  per- 


34  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

versity  of  man  triumphed  overall  the  gracious  re- 
straints of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  And  God  sa^y  that 
the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and 
that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his 
heart  was  only  evil  continually."  Even  the  sons 
of  God  joined  in  the  general  apostasy.  At  last  a 
single  family  was  all  that  remained  of  the  wor- 
shipers of  the  Most  High.^ 

Then  came  the  deluge,  sweeping  the  world  of  its 
guilty  inhabitants  with  the  besom  of  destruction.^ 
So  terrible  a  display  of  divine  justice  might  well 
be  thought  sufficient  to  restrain  impiety  for  ages. 
Surely  the  family  of  Noah  could  not  soon  forget 
this  awful  lesson.  But  alas,  revolt  and  apostasy 
speedily  follow^ed,  and  men  turned  from  God  to 
the  worship  of  idols.  Against  the  divine  mandate 
separating  the  human  family  into  nations,^  man- 
kind united  in  one  great  act  of  rebellion  in  the 
plain  of  Shinar.  "And  they  said,  Go  to,  let  us 
build  us  a  city  and  a  tower,  whose  top  may  reach 
unto  heaven  ;  and  let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we 
be  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth."  Then  God  confounded  them  in  their  im- 
piety and  scattered  them  abroad  from  thence  upon 
the  face  of  all  the  earth .^  Men  did  not  like  to  re- 
tain God  in  their  knowledge  ;  wherefore  God  gave 
them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  and  suffered  them 
to  change  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  to  wor- 
ship and  serve  the  creature  rather  than  the  Crea- 


1  Gen.  2-C  ;  Hcb.  11  :  4-7  ;  1  Pet.  3  :  20  ;  2  Pet.  2  :  5. 

2  Gen.  r  ;  Matt.  24  :  37-39  ;  Luke  17  :  26,  27  ;  2  Pet.  3  :  5,  G. 

3  Deut.  32  :  7,  8  ;  Acts  17  :  26. 

4  Gen.  11 :  1-9  ;  Josephus'  Ant.,  b.  i.  chap.  iv.  This  took  place 
in  the  days  of  Pelcg,  who  was  born  about  one  hundred  years  after 
the  Hood.  (;!en.  10:25,  compared  with  11:10-10;  Ant.,  b. 
i.  chap.  vi.  sect.  4. 


SABBATH   TO    THE    HEBREWS.  35 

tor.     Such  was  the  origin  of  idolatry  and  of  the 
apostasy  of  the  Gentiles.^ 

In  the  midst  of  this  wide-spread  apostasy  one 
man  was  found  whose  heart  was  faithful  with  God. 
Abraham  was  chosen  from  an  idolatrous  family, 
as  the  depositary  of  divine  truth,  the  fatlier  of 
the  faithful,  the  heir  of  the  world,  and  the  friend 
of  God.^  When  the  worshipers  of  God  were  found 
alone  in  the  family  of  Noah,  God  gave  up  the  rest 
of  mankind  to  perish  in  the  flood.  Now  that  the 
worshipers  of  God  are  again  reduced  almost  to  a 
single  family,  God  gives  up  the  idolatrous  nations 
to  their  own  ways,  and  takes  the  family  of  Abra- 
ham as  his  peculiar  heritage.  "  For  I  know  him," 
said  God,  "  that  he  will  command  his  children  and 
his  household  after  him,  and  they  shall  keep  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgment."^ 
That  they  might  preserve  in  the  earth  the  knowl- 
edge of  divine  truth  and  the  memory  and  worship 
of  the  Most  High,  they  were  to  be  a  people  walled 
off  from  all  mankind,  and  d^^^lling  in  a  land  of 
their  own.  That  they  might  thus  be  separated 
from  the  heathen  around,  God  gave  to  Abraham 
the  rite  of  circumcision,  and  afterward  to  his 
posterity  the  whole  ceremonial  law.*  But  they 
could  not  possess  the  land  designed  for  them  until 
the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites,  its  inhabitants,  was 
full,  that  they  should  be  thrust  out  before  them. 
The  horror  of  great  darkness,  and  the  smoking 
furnace  seen  by  Abraham  in  vision,  foreshadowed 
the  iron  furnace  and  the  bitter  servitude  of  Egypt. 


1  Rom.  1 :  18-32  ;  Acts  U :  16,  17  ;  17  :  29,  30. 

2  Gen.  12  : 1-3  ;  Josh.  24  :  2.  3,  l-i ;  Neh.  9  : 7,  8  ;  Rom.  4  :  13-17  ; 
2  Chron.  20  :  7  ;  Isa.  41  :  8  ;  James  2  :  23.  ^  Gen.  18  :  19. 

"Gen.  17:9-14;    34:  li;  Acts  10:23;  11:2,  3;  Eph.  2:12-19; 
Num.  i;3  :  9  ;  Deiu.  33  :  27,  28. 


36  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

The  family  of  Abraham  must  go  dovm  thither. 
Brief  prosperity  and  long  and  terrible  oppression 
follow/ 

At  length  the  power  of  the  oppressor  is  broken, 
and  the  people  of  God  are  delivered.  The  expi- 
ration of  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  from  the 
promise  to  Abraham  marks  the  hour  of  dehver- 
ance  to  his  posterity»^  The  nation  of  Israel  is 
brought  forth  from  Egypt  as  God's  peculiar  treas- 
ure, that  he  may  give  them  his  Sabbath,  and  his 
law,  and  himself.  The  psalmist  testifies  that  God 
"  brought  forth  his  people  with  joy,  and  his  chosen 
with  gladness :  and  gave  them  the  lands  of  the 
heathen  :  and  they  inherited  the  labor  of  the  peo- 
ple :  that  they  might  observe  his  statutes,  and  keep 
his  laws.  And  the  Most  High  sa3^s,  "  I  am  the 
Lord  which  hallow  you,  that  brought  you  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt,  to  he  your  God."  ^  Not  that 
the  commandments  of  God,  his  Sabbath  and  him- 
self, had  no  prior  existence,  nor  that  the  people 
were  ignorant  of  the  true  God  and  his  law; 
for  the  Sabbath  was  appointed  to  a  holy  use  be- 
fore the  fall  of  man ;  and  the  commandments  of 
God,  his  statutes  and  his  laws,  were  kept  by  Abra- 
ham ;  and  the  Israelites  themselves,  when  some 
of  them  had  violated  the  Sabbath,  were  reproved 
by  the  question,  "How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my 
commandments  and  my  laws  ?"  ^  And  as  to  the 
Most  High,  the  psalmist  exclaims,  "  Before  the 
mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  ever  thou  hadst 
formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting,  thou  art  God."  ^     But  there 


1  Gen.  15  ;  Ex.  1-5 ;  Deut.  4  :  20.         2  Ex.  12  :  20-42  ;  Gal.  3  :  17. 

3  Ps.  105  :  43-45  ;  Lev.  22  :  32,  33  ;  Num.  15  :  41. 

4  Gen.  2  :  2,  3  ;  20  :  5  ;  Ex.  10  :  4,  27,  28  ;  18  :  IG.  '-  Ps.  90  :  2. 


SABBATH    TO    THE    HEBREWS.  37 

must  be  a  formal  public  espousal  of  the  people 
by  God,  and  of  his  law  and  Sabbath  and  himself 
by  the  people.^  But  neither  the  Sabbath,  nor 
the  law,  nor  the  great  Law-giver,  by  their  con- 
nection with  the  Hebrews,  became  Jewish.  The 
Law-giver  indeed  became  the  God  of  Israel,^  and 
what  Gentile  shall  refuse  him  adoration  for  that 
reason  ?  but  the  Sabbath  still  remained  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord;^  and  the  law  continued  to 
be  the  law  of  the  Most  High. 

In  the  month  following  their  passage  through 
the  Red  Sea,  the  Hebrews  came  into  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sin.  It  is  at  this  point  in  his  narrative 
that  Moses  for  the  second  time  mentions  the  sanc- 
tified rest-day  of  the  Creator.  The  people  mur- 
mured for  bread : 

''  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  Moses,  Behold,  I  will  rain 
bread  from  heaven  for  you  ;  and  the  people  shall  go  out 
and  gather  a  certain  rate  every  day,  that  I  may  prove 
them,  whether  they  will  walk  in  my  law,  or  no.  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  on  the  sixth  day  they  shall  pre- 
j)are  that  which  they  bring  in  ;  and  it  shall  be  twice   as 

much  as  they  gather  daily I  have  heard  the 

murmurings  of  the  children  of  Israel  :  speak  unto  them, 
saying.  At  even  ye  shall  eat  flesh,  and  in  the  morning  ye 
shall  be  filled  with  bread  ;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God.  And  it  came  to  j)ass,  that  at  even 
the  quails  came  up,  and  covered  the  camp  ;  and  in  the 
morning  the  dew  lay  round  about  the  host.  And  when 
the  dew  that  lay  was  gone  up,  behold,  upon  the  face  of 
the  wilderness  there  lay  a  small  round  thing,  as  small 
as  the  hoar  frost  on  the  ground.  And  v\dien  the  children 
of  Israel  saw  it,  they  said  one  to  another.  It  is  manna  ;  for 
they  Avist  not  what  it  was.  And  Moses  said  unto  them, 
This  is  the  bread  which  the  Lord  hath  given  you  to  eat. 
This  is  the  thinc'  wdiich  the  Lord  hath  commanded.  Gather 


lEx.  19  :  3-8,  24  :  3-8  ;  Jer.  3  :  14,  compared  with  last  clause  of 
Jer.  31  :  32. 

2 Ex.  20  :  2  ;  24  :  10.  3  Ex.  20  :  10  ;  Dent.  5  :  14  ;  Neh.  0  :  14. 


38  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

of  it  every  man  according  to  his  eating,  an  omer  for  every 
man,  according  to  the  number  of  your  persons  ;  take  ye 
every  man  for  them  which  are  in  his  tents.  And  the 
children  of  Israel  did  so,  and  gathered,  some  more,  some 
less.  And  when  they  did  mete  it  with  an  omer,  ho  that 
gathered  much  liad  nothing  over,  and  he  that  gathered 
little  had  no  lack  ;  they  gathered  every  man  according  to 
his  eating.  And  Moses  said.  Let  no  man  leave  of  it  till 
the  morning.  Notwithstanding  they  hearkened  not  nnto 
Moses  ;  but  some  of  them  left  of  it  until  the  morning, 
and  it  bred  worms,  and  stank  ;  and  Moses  was  wroth  with 
them.  And  thej  gathered  it  every  morning,  every  man 
according  to  his  eating  ;  and  when  the  sun  waxed  hot,  it 
melted.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  on  the  sixth  day  they 
gathered  twice  as  much  bread, ^  two  omers  for  one  man  ; 
and  all  the  rulers  of  the  congregation  came  and  told  INIoses. 
And  he  said  unto  them.  This  is  that  which  the  Lord  hath 
said,"  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath  unto  the 


lOn  this  verse  Dr.  A.  Clarke  thus  comments: — "  On  the  sixth 
day  they  gathered  twice  as  much — This  thej  did  that  they  might 
have  a  provision  for  the  Sabbath." 

2  The  Douay  Bible  reads:  "To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  Sab- 
bath sanctified  unto  the  Lord."  Dr.  Clarke  comments  as  follows 
upon  this  text:  '^To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath] 
There  is  nothing  either  in  the  text  or  context  that  seems  to  inti- 
mate that  the  Sabbath  was  now  first  given  to  the  Israelites,  as 
some  have  supposed;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  here  spoken  of  as  be- 
ing perfectly  well  known,  from  its  "having  been  generally  ob- 
served. The  commandment,  it  is  true,  may  be  considered  as  be- 
ing now  renewed ;  because  they  might  have  supposed,  that  in 
their  unsettled  state  in  the  wilderness,  they  might  have  been  ex- 
empted from  the  observance  of  it.  Thus  we  find,  1.  That  when 
God  finished  his  creation  he  instituted  the  Sabbath;  2.  When  he 
brought  the  people  out  of  Egypt,  he  insisted  on  the  strict  ob- 
servance of  it ;  3.  When  he  gave  the  law,  he  made  it  a  tenth  part 
of  the  whole :  such  importance  has  this  institution  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Supreme  Being!" 

Richard  Baxter,  a  fiimous  divine  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  a  decided  advocate  of  the  abrogation  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment, in  his  "  Divine  Appointment  of  the  Lord's  Day," 
thus  clearly  states  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath :  Why  should  (jrod 
begin  two  thousand  years  after  [the  creation  of  the  world]  to 
give  men  a  Sabbath  upon  the  I'cason  of  his  rest  from  the  crea- 
tion of  it,  if  he  had  never  called  man  to  that  commemoration  be- 
fore ?  And  it  is  certain  that  the  Sabbath  was  observed  at  the  fall- 
ing of  the  manna  before  the  giving  of  the  law;  and  let  any  con- 
sidering Christian  judge 1.  Whether  the  not  falling  of 


SABBATH    TO    THE    HEBREWS.  39 

Lord  :  bake  that  wliicli  ye  will  bake  to-day,  and  seethe 
that  ye  will  seethe  ;  and  that  which  remaineth  over 
lay  up  to  be  kept  until  the  morning.  And  they  laid  it 
up  till  the  morning,  as  Moses  bade  ;  and  it  did  not  stink, 
neither  was  there  any  worm  therein.  And  Moses  said, 
Eat  that  to-  day  ;  for  to-day  is  a  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord  :  ^ 
to-day  ye  shall  not  find  it  in  the  field.  Six  days  ye  shall 
gather  it ;  but  on  the  seventh  day,  which  is  the  Sabbath, 
in  it  there  shall  be  none.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  there 
went  out  some  of  the  people  on  the  seventh  day  for  to 
gather,  and  they  found  none.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  commandments 
and  my  laws  ?  See,  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given  you  the 
Sabbath,  therefore  he  giveth  you  on  the  sixth  day  the 
bread  of  two  days  ;  abide  ye  every  man  in  his  place,  let 
no  man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh  day.  So  the 
people  rested  on  the  seventh  day." " 

This  narrative  shows,  1.  That  God  had  a  law 
and  commandments  prior  to  the  giving  of  the 
manna.  2.  That  God  in  giving  his  people  bread 
from. heaven  designed  to  prove  them  respecting 
his  law.  3.  That  in  this  law  was  the  holy  Sab- 
bath ;  for  the  test  relative  to  walking  in  the  law 
pertained  directly  to  the  Sabbath ;  and  when 
God  said,  "  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  com- 
mandments and  my  laws  ?"  it  was  the  Sabbath 
which  they  had  violated.  4.  That  in  proving  the 
people  respecting  this  existing  law,  Moses  gave 

the  manna,  or  the  rest  of  God  after  the  creation,  was  like  to  be 
the  original  reason  of  the  Sabbath.  2.  And  whether  if  it  had 
been  the  first,  it  would  not  have  been  said,  Remember  to  keep 
holy  the  Sabbath-day  ;  for  on  six  days  the  manna  fell,  and  not  on 
the  seventh;  rather  than  '  for  in  six  days  God  created  heaven 
and  earth,  &c.,  and  rested  the  seventh  day.'  And  it  is  casually 
added,  'Wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath-day,  and  hal- 
lowed it.'  Nay,  consider  whether  this  annexed  reason  intimates 
not  that  the  day  on  this  ground  being  hallowed  before,  therefore 
it  was  that  God  sent  not  down  the  manna  on  that  day,  and  that 
he  prohibited  the  people  from  seeking  it." — Practical  Worh^, 
Vol.  iii.  p.  784.  ed.  1707. 

1  The  Douay  Bible  reads:  "Because  it  i^  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord."  2  Ex.  16. 


40  HISTORY   OF    THE    SABBATH. 

no  new  precept  respecting  the  Sabbath,  but  re- 
mained silent  relative  to  the  preparation  for  the 
Sabbath  until  after  the  people,  of  their  own  ac- 
cord, had  gathered  a  double  portion  on  the  sixth 
day.  5,  That  by  this  act  the  people  proved  not 
only  that  they  were  not  ignorant  of  the  Sabbath, 
but  that  they  were  disposed  to  observe  it.^  C. 
That  the  reckoning  of  the  week,  traces  of  which 
appear  through  the  patriarchal  age,^  had  been 
rightly  kept,  for  the  people  knew  when  the  sixth 
day  had  arrived.  7.  That  had  there  been  any 
doubt  existing  on  that  point,  the  fall  of  the  man- 
na on  the  six  days,  the  withholding  of  it  on  the 
seventh,  and  the  preservation  of  that  needed  for 
the  Sabbath  over  tbat  day,  must  have  settled 
that  point  incontrovertibly.'^  8.  That  there  was 
no  act  of  instituting  the  Sabbath  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sin :  for  God  did  not  then  make  it  his 
rest-day,  nor  did  he  then  bless  and  sanctify  the 
day.  On  the  contrary,  the  record  shows  that  the 
seventh  day  was  already  the  sanctified  rest-day 


1  It  has  indeed  been  asserted  that  God  by  a  miracle  equalized 
the  portion  of  every  one  on  five  days,  and  doubled  the  portion  of 
each  on  the  sixth,  so  that  no  act  of  the  people  had  any  bearing  on 
the  Sabbath.  But  the  equal  portion  of  each  on  the  five  days  was 
not  thus  understood  by  Paul.  He  says:  "But  by  an  ecpiality, 
that  now  at  this  time  jour  abundance  may  be  a  supply  for  their 
want,  that  their  abundance  also  may  be  a  supply  for  your  want ; 
that  there  may  be  equality  ;  as  it  is  written,  lie  that  had  gathered 
much  had  nothing  over  ;  and  he  that  had  gathered  little  had  no 
lack."  2  Cor.  8:14,15.  And  that  the  double  portion  on  the 
sixth  day  was  the  act  of  the  people,  is  affirmed  by  Moses.  lie 
says  that  "  on  the  sixth  day  they  gathered  twice  as  much  bread." 
Verse  22. 

■^  Gen.  7  :  4,  10 ;  8  :  10,  12,  ;  29  :  27,  28  ;  50  :  10  ;  Ex.  7  :  25 ;  Job 
2:13. 

3  By  this  three-fold  miracle,  occurring  every  week  for  forty 
years,  the  gi-eat  Law-giver  distinguished  his  hallowed  day.  The 
people  wcic  thcrofbie  admirably  prepared  to  listen  to  the  fourth 
commandment  enjoining  the  observance  of  the  very  day  on  which 
lie  had  rested.     E.v.  K".  :  Sr. ;  .losh.  5  :  12  :    Ex.  20  :  8  IL 


SABBATH    TO    THE    HEBREWS.  41 

of  the  Lord.^  9.  That  the  obligation  to  observe 
the  Sabbath  existed  and  was  known  before  the 
fall  of  the  manna.  For  the  language  used  im- 
plies the  existence  of  such  an  obligation,  but  does 
not  contain  a  new  enactment  until  after  some  of 
the  people  had  violated  the  Sabbath.  Thus  God 
says  to  Moses,  "  On  the  sixth  day  they  shall  pre- 
pare that  which  they  bring  in/'  but  he  does  not 
speak  of  the  seventh.  And  on  the  sixth  day 
Moses  says,  ''  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy 
Sabbath  unto  the  Lord,"  but  he  does  not  com- 
mand them  to  observe  it.  On  the  seventh  day 
he  says  that  it  is  the  Sabbath,  and  that  they 
should  find  no  manna  in  the  field.  "  Six  days  ye 
shall  gather  it ;  but  on  the  seventh  day,  which 
is  the  Sabbath,  in  it  there  shall  be  none."  But 
in  all  this  there  is  no  precept  given,  yet  the  ex- 
istence of  such  a  precept  is  plainl}^  implied.  10. 
That  when  some  of  the  people  violated  the  Sab- 
bath they  were  reproved  in  language  which 
plainly  implies  a  previous  transgression  of  this 
precept.  "  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  com- 
mandments and  my  laws  ?"  11.  And  that  this 
rebuke  of  the  Law-giver  restrained  for  the  time 
the  transgression  of  the  people. 

"  See,  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given  you  the  Sab- 
bath, therefore  he  giveth  you  on  the  sixth  day 


1  The  twelfth  chapter  of  Exodus  relates  the  origin  of  the  pass- 
over.  It  is  in  striking  contrast  with  Ex.  16,  which  is  supposed  to 
give  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath.  If  the  reader  will  compare  the 
two  chapters  he  will  see  the  difference  between  the  origin  of  an 
institution  as  given  in  Ex.  12,  and  a  familiar  reference  to  an  ex- 
isting institution  as  in  Ex.  16.  If  he  will  also  compare  Gen.  2 
with  Ex.  12,  he  will  see  that  the  one  gives  the  origin  of  the  Sab- 
bath in  the  same  manner  that  the  other  gives  the  origin  of  the 
passover. 

SabbAth  History.  4 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  bread  of  two  days :  ^  abide  ye  every  man  in 
his  place,  let  no  man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the 
seventh  day."-  As  a  special  trust,  God  com- 
mitted the  Sabbath  to  the  Hebrews.  It  was 
now  given  them,  not  now  made  for  them. 
It  was  made  for  man  at  the  close  of  the  first 
week  of  time ;  but  all  other  nations  having  turned 
from  the  Creator  to  the  worship  of  idols,  it  is 
given  to  the  Hebrew  people.  Nor  does  this  prove 
that  all  the  Hebrews  had  hitherto  disregarded  it. 
For  Christ  uses  the  same  language  respecting  cir- 
cumcision. Thus  he  says,  Moses  therefore  gave 
unto  you  circumcision ;  not  because  it  is  of  Moses, 
but  of  the  fathers."^  Yet  God  had  enjoined  that 
ordinance  upon  Abraham  and  his  family  four  hun- 
dred years  previous  to  this  gift  of  it  by  Moses,  and 
it  had  been  retained  by  them.* 

The  language,  "  The  Lord  hath  given  you  the 
Sabbath,"  implies  a  solemn  act  of  committing  a 
treasure  to  their  trust.  How  was  this  done  ?  No 
act  of  instituting  the  Sabbath  here  took  place. 
No  precept  enjoining  its  observance  was  given 
until  some  of  the  people  violated  it,  wdien  it  was 
given  in  the  form  of  a  reproof;  which  evinced  a 
previous  obligation,  and   that  they  were  trans- 

1  This  implies,  first,  the  fall  of  a  larger  quantity  on  that  day, 
and  second,  its  preservation  for  the  wants  of  the  Sabbath. 

2  This  must  refer  to  going  out  for  manna,  as  the  connection  im- 
plies ;  for  religious  assemblies  on  the  Sabbath  were  commanded 
and  observed.  Lev.  23  :  3  ;  Mark  1  :  21  ;  Luke  4  :  16  ;  Acts  1:12; 
15:21.  s  John  7:  22. 

*Gen.  17;  34;  Ex.  4.  Moses  is  said  to  have  given  circumcision 
to  the  Hebrews;  yet  it  is  a  singular  ftict  that  his  first  mention  of 
that  ordinance  is  purely  incidental,  and  plainly  implies  an  exist- 
ing knowledge  of  it  on' their  part.  Thus  it  is  written  :  "Ttiis  is 
the  ordinance  of  the  passover  :  There  shall  no  stranger  cat  there- 
of; but  every  man's  servant  that  is  bought  for  money,  when  thou 
hast  circumcised  him,  then  shall  he  eat  thereof "  Ex.  12  :  43,  44. 
And  in  like  manner  when  the  Sabbath  was  given  to  Israel,  that 
people  wore  not  ignorant  of  the  sacred  institution. 


SABBATH    TO    THE    HEBREWS.  43 

gressing  an  existing  law.  And  this  view  is  cer- 
tainly strengthened  by  the  fact  that  no  explana- 
tion of  the  institution  was  given  to  the  people  ;  a 
fact  which  indicates  that  some  knowledge  of  the 
Sabbath  was  already  in  their  possession. 

But  how  then  did  God  give  them  the  Sabbath  ? 
He  did  this,  iii'st,  by  delivering  them  from  the 
abject  bondage  of  Egypt,  where  they  were  a  na- 
tion of  slaves.  And  second,  by  providing  them 
food  in  such  a  manner  as  to  impose  the  strongest 
obligation  to  keep  the  Sabbath.  Forty  years  did 
he  give  them  bread  from  heaven,  sending  it  for 
six  days,  and  withholding  it  on  the  seventh,  and 
preserving  food  for  them  over  the  Sabbath.  Thus 
was  the  Sabbath  especially  intrusted  to  them. 

As  a  gift  to  the  Hebrews,  the  Creator's  great 
memorial  became  a  sign  between  God  and  them- 
selves. ''  I  gave  them  my  Sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign 
between  me  and  them,  that  they  might  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord  that  sanctify  them."  As  a 
sign,  its  object  is  stated  to  be,  to  make  known  the 
true  God ;  and  we  are  told  why  it  was  such  a  sign. 
"  It  is  a  sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael forever;  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heav- 
en and  earth,  and  on  the  seventh  day  he  rested, 
and  was  refreshed."  ^  The  institution  itself  sig- 
nified that  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
in  six  days  and  rested  on  the  seventh.  Its  ob- 
servance by  the  people  signified  that  the  Creator 
was  their  God.  How  full  of  meaning  was  this  sign ! 

The  Sabbath  was  a  sign  between  God  and  the 
children  of  Israel,  because  they  alone  were  the 
worshipers  of  the  Creator.  All  other  nations  had 
turned  from  him  to  "the  gods  that  have  not 
made   the   heavens   and   the  earth."  ^     For  this 

lEze.  20:12:  Ex.  31:17.  ^Jer.  10:10-12. 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

reason  the  memorial  of  the  great  Creator  was 
committed  to  the  Hebrews,  and  it  became  a  sign 
between  the  Most  High  and  themselves.  Thus 
was  the  Sabbath  a  golden  link  uniting  the  Creator 
and  his  worshipers. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   FOURTH   COMMANDMENT. 

The  Holy  One  upon  Mount  Sinai — Three  great  gifts  bestowed 
upon  the  Hebrews — The  Sabbath  proclaimed  by  the  voice 
of  God — Position  assigned  it  in  the  moral  law — Origin  of 
the  Sabbath — Definite  character  of  the  commandment — 
llevolution  of  the  earth  upon  its  axis — Name  of  the  Sabbat- 
ic institution — Seventh  day  of  the  commandment  identical 
with  the  seventh  day  of  the  New- Testament  week — Testi- 
mony of  Nehemiah — Moral  obligation  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment. 

And  now  we  approach  the  record  of  that  sub- 
lime event,  the  personal  descent  of  the  Lord  upon 
Mount  Sinai.^  The  sixteenth  chapter  of  Exodus, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  remarkable  for  the  fact  that 
God  gave  to  Israel  the  Sabbath ;  the  nineteenth 
chapter,  for  the  fact  that  God  gave  himself  to  that 
people  in  solemnly  espousing  them  as  a  holy  na- 
tion unto  himself;  while  the  twentieth  chapter 
will  be  found  remarkable  for  the  act  of  the  Most 
High  in  giving  to  Israel  his  law. 

It  is  customary  to  speak  against  the  Sabbath 
and  the  law  as  Jewish,  because  thus  given  to  Is- 
rael. As  well  might  the  Creator  be  spoken 
against,  who  brought  them  out  of  Egypt  to  be 


1  That  the  Lord  was  there  in  person  with  his  angels,  see  besides 
the  narrative  in  Ex.  19;  20;  32-84,  the  following  testimonies: 
Dent.  -SO  :  2 ;  Judges  o  :  -t  ;  Nehemiah  0  :  0-13  ;  V».  OS  :  17. 


THE    FOURTH    COMMANDMENT.  45 

their  God,  and  who  styles  himself  the  God  of  Is- 
rael. ^  The  Hebrews  were  honored  by  being  thus 
intrusted  with  the  Sabbath  and  the  law,  not  the 
Sabbath  and  the  law  and  the  Creator  rendered 
Jewish  by  this  connection.  The  sacred  writers 
speak  of  the  high  exaltation  of  Israel  in  being 
thus  intrusted  with  the  law  of  God. 

"  He  slioweth  his  word  unto  Jacob,  his  statutes  and  his 
judgments  unto  Israel.  He  hath  not  dealt  so  with  any 
nation  :  and  as  for  Ms  judgments,  they  have  not  known 
them.  Praise  ye  the  Lord!"  "What  advantage  then 
hath  the  Jew  ?  or  what  profit  is  there  of  circumcision  ? 
Much  every  way  :  chiefly,  because  that  unto  them  were 
committed  the  oracles  of  God."  "  AYho  are  Israelites; 
to  whom  pertaineth  the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  service  of 
God,  and  the  promises  ;  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of 
whom  as  concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came,  who  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  forever.     Ainen." " 

After  the  Most  High  had  solemnly  espoused 
the  people  unto  himself,  as  his  peculiar  treasure 
in  the  earth,  ^  they  were  brought  forth  out  of  the 
camp  to  meet  with  God.  "  And  Mount  Sinai  was 
altogether  on  a  smoke,  because  the  Lord  descended 
upon  it  in  fii'e :  and  the  smoke  thereof  ascend- 
ed as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and  the  whole 
mount  quaked  greatly."  Out  of  the  midst  of  this 
fire  did  God  proclaim  the  ten  words  of  his  law.  ^ 

1  Ex.  24  :  10  ;  Lev.  22  :  32,  33  ;  Num.  15  :  41 ;  Isa.  41 :  17. 

2Ps.  147  :  10,  20 ;  Rom.  3:1,  2  ;  9  :  4,  5.  The  following  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  Wm.  Miller  presents  the  subject  in  a  clear  light : 
''I  say,  and  believe  I  am  supported  by  the  Bible,  that  the  moral 
law  was  never  given  to  the  Jews  as  a  people  exclusively  ;  but 
they  were  for  a  season  the  keepers  of  it  in  charge.  And  through 
them  the  law,  oracles,  and  testimony,  have  been  handed  dovvn  to 
us.  See  Paul's  clear  reasoning  in  Rom.  chapters  2,  3,  and  4,  on 
that  point." — Miller'' s  Life  and  Views,  p.  161. 

3Ex.  19;  Deut.  7:  6;  14:  2;  2  Sam.  7  :  23 ;  1  Kings  S  :  53  ;  Amos 
3:1,2. 

■»  Ex.  20  : 1-17  ;  34  :  28,  margin;  Deut.  5  : 4-22  ;  10  :  4,  margin. 


46  HISTORY    OF.  THE    SABBATH. 

The  fourth  of  these  precepts  is  the  grand  law  of 
the  Sabbath.     Thus  spake  the  great  Lawgiver  : — 

''Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.  Six 
days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work  :  but  the  sev- 
enth day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God  :  in  it  thou 
shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daugh- 
ter, thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid- servant,  nor  thy  cat- 
tle, nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates  :  for  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all 
that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day  :  wherefore 
the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  halloAved  it." 

The  estimate  which  the  Law-giver  placed  upon 
his  Sabbath  is  seen  in  that  he  deemed  it  worthy 
of  a  place  in  his  code  of  ten  commandments,  thus 
causing  it  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  nine  immuta- 
ble moral  precepts.  Nor  is  this  to  be  thought  a 
small  honor  that  the  Most  High,  naming  one  by 
one  the  great  principles  of  morality  until  all  are 
given,  and  he  adds  no  more,^  should  include  in 
their  number  the  observance  of  his  hallowed  rest- 
day.  This  precept  is  expressly  given  to  enforce 
the  observance  of  the  Creator's  great  memorial ; 
and  unlike  all  the  others,  this  one  traces  its  obli- 
gation back  to  the  creation,  where  that  memorial 
was  ordained. 

The  Sabbath  is  to  be  remembered  and  kept 
holy  because  that  God  hallowed  it,  i.  c,  appointed 
it  to  a  holy  use,  at  the  close  of  the  first  week. 
And  this  sanctification  or  hallowing  of  the  rest- 
day,  when  the  first  seventh  day  of  time  was  past, 
was  the  solemn  act  of  setting  apart  the  seventh 
day  for  time  to  come  in  memory  of  the  Creator's 
rest.  Thus  the  fourth  commandment  reaches 
back  and  embraces  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath 
in  paradise,  while  the  sanctification  of  the  Sab- 

1  Dent.  5  :  22, 


THE    FOURTH    COMMANDMENT.  47 

bath  in  paradise  extends  forward  to  all  coming 
time.  The  narrative  respecting  the  wilderness  of 
Sin  admirably  cements  the  union  of  the  two. 
Thus  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  before  the  fourth 
commandment  was  given,  stands  the  Sabbath, 
holy  to  the  Lord,  with  an  existing  obligation  to 
observe  it,  though  no  commandment  in  that  nar- 
rative creates  the  obligation.  This  obligation  is 
derived  from  the  same  source  as  the  fourth  com- 
mandment, namely,  the  sanctification  of  the  Sab- 
bath in  paradise,  showing  that  it  was  an  existing 
duty,  and  not  a  new  precept.  For  it  should  never 
be  forgotten  that  the  fourth  commandment  does 
not  trace  its  obligation  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
but  to  the  creation ;  a  decisive  proof  that  the 
Sabbath  did  not  orio^inate  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin. 
The  fourth  commandment  is  remarkably  defi- 
nite. It  embraces,  first,  a  precept :  "  Remember 
the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy ;"  second,  an  ex- 
planation of  this  precept :  "  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labor,  and  do  all  thy  work  ;  but  the  seventh  day 
is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God  :  in  it  thou 
shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy 
daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant, 
nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within 
thy  gates  ;"  third,  the  reasons  on  which  the  pre- 
cept is  based,  embracing  the  origin  of  the  insti- 
tution, and  the  very  acts  by  which  it  was  made, 
and  enforcing  all  by  the  example  ^  of  the  Law- 
giver himself :  "for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made 
heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them 
is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day  :  wherefore  the 
Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it." 

iHe  whd  created  the  world  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and 
completed  its  organization  in  six  days,  rested  on  the  seventh  day, 
and  was  refreshed,     (ien.  1 ;  2  ;  f]x.  31 :  17. 


48  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

The  rest-day  of  the  Lord  is  thus  distinguished 
from  the  six  days  on  which  he  labored.  The 
blessing  and  sanctification  pertain  to  the  day  of 
the  Creator's  rest.  There  can  be,  therefore,  no 
indefiniteness  in  the  precept.  It  is  not  merely 
one  day  in  seven,  but  that  day  in  the  seven  on 
which  the  Creator  rested,  and  upon  which  he 
placed  his  blessing,  namety,  the  seventh  day.^ 
And  this  day  is  definitely  pointed  out  in  the 
name  given  it  by  God  :  "  The  seventh  day  is  the 
Sabbath  [i  c,  the  rest-day]  of  the  Lord  thy  God." 

That  the  seventh  day  in  the  fourth  command- 
ment is  the  seventh  day  of  the  New-Testament 
week  may  be  plainly  proved.  In  the  record  of 
our  Lord's  burial,  Luke  writes  thus  : — 

"And  that  day  was  the  preparation,  and  the  Sabbath 
drew  on.  And  the  ivomen  also  which  came  with  him 
from  GaHlee,  followed  after,  and  beheld  the  sepulcher, 
and  how  his  body  was  laid.  And  they  returned,  and  pre- 
pared spices  and  ointments  ;  and  rested  the  Sabbath  day 
according  to  the  commandment.  Now  upon  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  very  early  in  the  morning,  they  came  unto 
the  sepulcher,  bringing  the  spices  which  they  had  pre- 
pared, and  certain  others  with  them."" 

Luke  testifies  that  these  women  kept  "the 
Sabbath  day  according   to   the   commandment." 

»  To  this,  however,  it  is  objected  that  in  consequence  of  the  rev- 
oUition  of  the  earth  on  its  axis,  the  da}'  begins  earlier  in  the 
East  than  with  us;  and  hence  that  there  is  no  definite  seventh 
day  to  the  world  of  mankind.  To  suit  such  objectors,  the  earth 
ought  not  to  revolve.  But  in  that  case,  so  far  from  removing  the 
difficulty,  there  would  be  no  seventh  day  at  all ;  for  one  side  of 
the  globe  would  have  perpetual  day  and  the  other  side  perpetual 
night.  The  truth  is,  everything  depends  upon  the  revolution  of 
the  earth.  God  made  the  Sabbath  for  man  [Mark  2:\i7];  he 
made  man  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth  [Acts  17  :  2GJ ;  he 
caused  the  earth  to  revolve  on  its  axis  that  it  might  measure  otf 
the  days  of  the  week  ;  causing  that  the  sun  should  shine  on  the 
earth,  as  it  revolves  fiom  west  to  east,  thus  causing  the  day  to  go 
round  the  world  from  east  to  west.  Seven  of  these  revolutions 
constitute  a  week;  the  seventh  one  brings  the  Sabbath  to  all  the 
world.  2  Luke  23  :  54-50  ;  24  :1  . 


THE    FOURTH    COMMANDMENT.  49 

The  commandment  says,  "  The  seventh  day  is  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God."  This  day  thus 
observed  vv^as  the  last  or  seven tli  day  of  the  week, 
for  the  following^  day  was  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  Hence  the  seventh  xlay  of  the  command- 
ment is  the  seventh  day  of  the  New-Testament 
week. 

The  testimony  of  Nehemiah  is  deeply  interest- 
ing. "  Thou  camest  down  also  upon  Mount  Sinai, 
and  spakest  with  them  from  heaven,  and  gavest 
them  right  judgments,  and  true  laws,  good  stat- 
utes and  commandments :  and  madest  known 
nnto  them  thy  holy  Sabbath,  and  commandedst 
them  precepts,  statutes,  and  laws,  by  the  hand  of 
Moses  thy  servant.""  It  is  remarkable  that  God 
is  said  to  have  made  known  the  Sabbath  when 
he  thus  came  down  upon  the  mount ;  for  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  had  the  Sabbath  in  possession  when 
they  came  to  Sinai.  This  language  must  there- 
fore refer  to  that  complete  unfolding  of  the  Sab- 
batic institution  which  is  given  in  the  fourth  com- 
mandment. And  mark  the  expression  :  "  Madest 
known '^  unto  them  thy  holy  Sabbath;"  not 
madest  the  Sabbath  for  them :  language  which 
plainly  implies  its  previous  existence,  and  which 
cites  the  mind  back  to  the  Creator's  rest  for  the 
oriojin  of  the  institution.^ 

1  See  also  Matt.  28  : 1 ;  Mark  16  :  1,  2.  2  Neh.  9  :  13,  14. 

3  This  expression  is  strikingly  illnstrated  in  the  statement  of 
Eze.  20  :  5,  where  God  is  said  to  have  made  himself  known  unto 
Israel  in  Eijypt.  This  language  cannot  mean  that  the  people  were 
ignorant  of  tlie  true  God,  however  wicked  some  of  them  might 
be,  for  they  had  been  God's  peculiar  people  from  the  days  of  Abra- 
ham. Ex.  2:23-25;  3:6,7;  4:31.  The  language  implies  the 
prior  existence  both  of  the  Law-giver  and  of  his  S.ibbath,  when 
it  is  said  that  they  were  "made  known  "  to  his  people. 

4  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  term  Sabbath  day  signi- 
fies rest-day;  that  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  is  the  rest-day  of  the 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

The  moral  obligation  of  the  fourth  command- 
ment  which  is  so  often  denied  may  be  clearly 
shown  by  reference  to  the  origin  of  all  things. 
God  created  the  world  and  gave  existence  to 
man  upon  it.  To  him  he  gave  life  and  breath, 
and  all  things.  Man  therefore  owes  everything 
to  God.  Every  faculty  of  his  mind,  every  power 
of  his  being,  all  his  strength  and  all  his  time 
belong  of  right  to  the  Creator.  It  was  therefore 
the  benevolence  of  the  Creator  that  gave  to  man 
six  days  for  his  own  wants.  And  in  setting  apart 
the  seventh  day  to  a  holy  use  in  memory  of  his 
own  rest,  the  Most  High  was  reserving  unto  him- 
self one  of  the  seven  days,  when  he  could  rightly 
claim  all  as  his.  The  six  days  therefore  are  the 
gift  of  God  to  man,  to  be  rightly  employed  in 
secular  affairs,  not  the  seventh  day,  the  gift  of 
man  to  God.  The  fourth  commandment,  there- 
fore, does  not  require  man  to  give  something  of 
his  own  to  God,  but  it  does  require  that  man 
should  not  appropriate  to  himself  that  whicli  God 
has  reserved  for  his  own  worship.  To  observe 
this  day  then  is  to  render  to  God  of  the  things 
that  are  his;  to  appropriate  it  to  ourselves  is 
simply  to  rob  God. 

Lord;  and  hence  that  the  expression,  "Thy  holy  Sabbath,"  re- 
fers the  mind  to  the  Creator's  rest-day,  and  to  his  act  of  blessing 
and  hallowing  it. 


SABBATH    WRITTEN    BY    GOD.  51 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE    SABBATH    VrRITTEX   BY   THE    FIXGER   OF   GOD. 

Classification  of  the  precepts  given  through  Moses — The 
Sabbath  renewed — Solemn  ratification  of  the  covenant  be- 
tween God  and  Israel — Moses  called  up  to  receive  the  law 
which  God  had  written  upon  stone — The  ten  command- 
ments probably  proclaimed  upon  the  Sabbath — Events  of 
the  forty  days — The  Sabbath  becomes  a  sign  between  God 
and  Israel — The  penalty  of  death — The  tables  of  testimony 
given  to  ]Moses — And  broken  when  he  saw  the  idolatry  of 
the  people — The  idolaters  punished — Moses  goes  up  to  re- 
new the  tables — The  Sabbath  again  enjoined — The  tables 
given  again — The  ten  commandments  were  the  testimony 
of  God — Who-  wrote  them — Three  distinguished  honors 
■which  pertain  to  the  Sabbath — The  ten  commandments  a 
complete  code — Relation  of  the  fourth  commandment  to 
the  atonement — Valid  reason  why  God  himself  should 
■write  that  law  which  was  placed  beneath  the  mercy-seat. 

When  the  voice  of  the  Holy  One  had  ceased, 
"the  people  stood  afar  off,  and  Moses  drew  Eear 
unto  the  thick  darkness  where  God  was."  A I  r' ef 
interview  follows  ^  in  which  God  gives  to  Moses  a 
series  of  precepts,  which,  as  a  sample  of  the  stat- 
utes given  through  him,  may  be  classified  thus : 
Ceremonial  precepts,  pointing  to  the  good  things 
to  come  ;  judicial  precepts,  intended  for  the  civil 
government  of  the  nation ;  and  moral  precepts, 
stating  anew  in  other  forms  the  ten  command- 
ments. In  this  brief  interview  the  Sabbath  is 
not  forgotten : — 

' '  Six  days  thou  slialt  do  tliy  -work,  and  on  the  seventh 
day  thou  shalt  rest ;  that  thine  ox  and  thine  ass  may  rest, 
and  the  son  of  thy  handmaid,  and  the  stranger,  may  be 
refreshed."  " 

This  scripture  furnishes  incidental  proof  that 

1  Ex.  20-24.  2  Ex.  23  :  12. 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  Sabbath  was  made  for  mankind,  and  for  those 
creatures  that  share  the  labors  of  man.  The 
stranger  and  the  foreigner  must  keep  it,  and  it 
was  for  tlieir  refreshment.^  But  the  same  per- 
sons coukl  not  partake  of  the  passover  until  they 
were  made  members  of  the  Hebrew  church  by 
circumcision.^ 

When  Moses  had  returned  unto  the  people,  he 
repeated  all  the  words  of  the  Lord.  With  one 
voice  all  the  people  exclaim,  "  All  the  words  which 
the  Lord  hath  said  will  we  do."  Then  Moses 
wrote  all  the  words  of  the  Lord.  "  And  he  took 
the  book  of  the  covenant  and  read  in  the  audience 
of  the  people :  and  they  said,  All  that  the  Lord 
hath  said  will  we  do,  and  be  obedient."  Then 
Moses  "  sprinkled  both  the  book  and  all  the  peo- 
ple, saying,  This  is  the  blood  of  the  testament 
which  God  hath  enjoined  unto  you."^ 

The  way  was  thus  prepared  for  God  to  bestow 
a  second  signal  honor  upon  his  law : — 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Come  up  to  me  into 
the  mount,  and  be  there :  and  I  will  give  thee  tables  of 
stone,  and  a  law,  and  commandments  which  I  have 
written ;  that  thou  may  est  teach  them.  .  .  .  And 
Moses  went  up  into  the  mount,  and  a  cloud  covered  the 
mount.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  abode  upon  Mount 
Sinai,  and  the  cloud  covered  it  six  days  :  and  the  seventh 
day  he  called  unto  Moses  out  of  the  midst  of  the  cloud.  * 


1  See  also  Ex.  20  :  10  ;  Deut.  5  :  14  ;  Isa.  56. 

2  Ex.  12:43^8.  3  Ex.  24:  3-8;  Heb.  9  :  18-20, 
''Dr.  Clarke  has  the  following  note  on  this  verse  :    "  It  is  very. 

likely  that  Moses  went  up  into  the  mount  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week  ;  and  having  with  Joshua  remained  in  the  region  of  the 
cloud  during  six  da3's,  on  the  seventh,  which  was  the  Sabbath, 
God  spake  to  liim." — (Jommentary  on  Ex.  24:  1(5.  The  marking 
off  of  a  week  from  the  foity  days  in  this  remarkable  mnnuer 
goes  far  toward  establishing  the  view  of  Dr.  C.  And  if  this  be 
correct,  it  would  strongly  indicate  that  the  ten  commandments 
were  given  upon  the  Sabbath  ;    for  there  seems  to  be  good  evi- 


SABBATH    WRITTEN    BY    GOD.  53 

And  the  sight  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  wus  like  devouring 
fire  on  the  top  of  the  mount  in  the  eyes  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  And  Moses  went  into  the  midst  of  the  cloud, 
and  gat  him  up  into  the  mount ;  and  Moses  was  in  the 
mount  forty  days  and  forty  nights."^ 

During  this  forty  days  God  gave  to  Moses  a 
pattern  of  the  ark  in  whicli  to  place  the  law  that 
he  had  written  upon  stone,  and  of  the  mercy- seat 
to  place  over  that  law,  and  of  the  sanctuary  in 
which  to  deposit  the  ark.  He  also  ordained  the 
priesthood,  which  was  to  minister  in  the  sanctu- 
ary before  the  ark. "  These  things  being  ordained, 
and  the  Law-giver  about  to  commit  his  law  as 
written  by  himself  into  the  hands  of  Moses,  he 
again  enjoins  the  Sabbath  : — 

"And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  saying,  Speak  thou 
also  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  Verily  my  Sab- 
baths ye  shall  keep ;  for  it  is  a  sign  between  me  and  you 
throughout  your  generations ;  that  ye  may  know  that  I 
am  the  Lord  that  doth  sanctify  you.  Ye  shall  keep  the 
JSabbath  therefore ;  for  it  is  holy  unto  you :  every  one 
that  defileth  it  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  for  whoso- 
ever doeth  any  w^ork  therein,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off 
from  among  his  people.  Six  daj'-s  may  work  be  done ; 
but  in  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath  of  rest,  holy  to  the 
Lord  :  whosoever  doeth  any  work  in  the  Sabbath  day,  he 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death.  Wherefore  the  children  of 
Israel  shall  keep  the  Sabbath  to  observe  the  Sabbath 
throughout  their  generations,  for  a  perpetual  covenant. 
It  is  a  sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Israel  forever : 
for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  on  the 
seventh  day  he  rested,  and  was  refreshed.  And  he  gave  unto 
Moses,  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  communing  with  hi  en 

dence  that  they  were  given  the  day  before  Moses  went  up  to  re- 
ceive the  tables  of  stone.  For  the  interview  in  which  chapters 
21-23  were  given  would  require  but  a  brief  space,  and  certainly 
followed  immediately  upon  the  giving  of  the  ten  commandments. 
Ex.  20:  18-21.  When  the  interview  closed,  Moses  came  down  to 
the  people  and  wrote  all  the  words  of  the  Lord.  In  the  morning 
he  rose  up  early,  and,  having  ratified  the  covenant,  went  up  to 
receive  the  law  which  God  had  written.     Ex.  24  :  3-13. 

'Ex.  24:  12-18.  -^Ex.  25-01. 


54  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

"upon  Sinai,  two  tables  of  testimony,  tables  of  stone,  written 
with  the  finger  of  God."  ^ 

This  should  be  compared  with  the  testimony  of 
Ezekiel,  speaking  in  the  name  of  God  : — 

''I  gave  them  my  statutes,  and  showed  them  my  judg- 
ments, which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  even  live  in  them .  More- 
over also  I  gave  them  my  Sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign  between 
me  and  them,  that  they  might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord 

that  sanctify  them I  am  the  Lord  your  God  : 

walk  in  my  statute 3,  and  keep  my  judgments,  and  do 
them  ;  and  hallow  my  Sabbaths  ;  and  they  shall  be  a 
sign  between  me  and  you,  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God."^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  neither  of  these  script- 
ures teach  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  Israel, 
nor  yet  do  they  teach  that  it  was  made  after  the 
Hebrews  came  out  of  Egypt.  In  neither  of  these 
particulars  do  they  even  seem  to  contradict  those 
texts  that  place  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  at 
creation.  But  we  do  learn,  1.  That  it  was  God's 
act  of  giving  to  the  Hebrews  his  Sabbath  that 
made  it  a  sign  between  theiii  and  himself  "  I 
gave  them  my  Sabbaths  TO  be  a  sign  between 
me  and  them."  This  act  of  committing  to  them 
the  Sabbath  has  been  noticed  already.  ^  2.  That 
it  was  to  be  a  sign  between  God  and  the  Hebrews, 
"  that  they  might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that 
sanctify  them."  Wherever  the  word  Lord  in  the 
Old  Testament  is  in  small  capitals,  as  in  the  texts 
under  consideration,  it  is  in  the  Hebrew,  Jehovah. 
The  Sabbath  tlien  as  a  sign  signified  that  it  was 
Jehovah,  i.  e.,  the  infinite,  self- existent  God,  who 
had  sanctified  them.  To  sanctify  is  to  separate, 
set  apart,  or  appoint,  to  a  holy,  sacred  or  religious 

»Ex.  31  :  12-18.  ^Eze.  20:11,  12,  19,  20. 

3  See  third  chapter  of  this  work. 


SABBATH    WRITTEN    BY    GOD.  55 


apart  in  the  most  remarkable  manner  from  all 
mankind,  was  sufficiently  evident.  But  who  was 
it  that  had  thus  separated  them  from  all  other 
people  ?  As  a  gracious  answer  to  this  important 
question,  God  gave  to  the  Hebrews  his  own  hal- 
lowed rest-day.  But  how  could  the  great  me- 
morial of  the  Creator  determine  such  a  question  ? 
Listen  to  the  words  of  the  Most  High :  "  Verily 
my  Sabbaths,"  i.  e.,  my  rest-days,  "  ye  shall  keep  ; 

for  it  is  a  sign  between  me  and  you It  is  a 

sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Israel  for- 
ever ;  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and 
earth,  and  on  the  seventh  day  he  rested,  and  was 
refreshed."  The  Sabbath  as  a  sign  between  God 
and  Israel,  was  a  perpetual  testimony  that  he 
who  had  separated  them  from  all  mankind  as  his 
peculiar  treasure  in  the  earth,  was  that  Being 
who  had  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in 
six  days  and  rested  on  the  seventh.  It  was  there- 
fore the  strongest  possible  assurance  that  he  who 
sanctified  them  was  indeed  Jehovah. 

From  the  days  of  Abraham  God  had  set  apart 
the  Hebrews.  He  who  had  previously  borne  no 
local,  national  or  family  name,  did  from  that  time 
until  the  end  of  his  covenant  relation  with  the 
Hebrew  race,  take  to  himself  such  titles  as  seemed 
to  show  him  to  be  their  God  alone.  From  his 
choice  of  Abraham  and  his  family  forward  he  des- 
ignates himself  as  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 


i"To  sanctify,  hadasJi,  signifies  to  consecrate,  separate,  and 
set  apart  a  thing  or  person  from  all  secular  purposes  to  some 
religious  use."  Clarke's  Commentary  on  Ex.  13:2.  The  same 
writer  says,  on  Ex.  19  :  23,  "Here  the  word  kadasli  is  taken  in 
its  proper,  literal  sense,  signifying  the  separating  of  a  thing, 
person,  or  place,  from  all  profane  or  common  uses,  and  devoting 
It  to  saered  purposes. 


56  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

and  of  Jacob ;  the  God  of  the  Hebrews,  and  the 
God  of  Israel.  ^  He  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt 
to  be  their  God,"  and  at  Smai  did  join  himself  to 
them  in  solemn  espousal.  He  did  thus  set  apart 
or  sanctify  unto  himself  the  Hebrews,  because 
that  all  other  nations  had  given  themselves  to 
idolatry.  Thus  the  God  of  Heaven  and  earth 
condescended  to  give  himself  to  a  single  race,  and 
to  set  them  apart  from  all  mankind.  It  should 
be  observed  that  it  was  not  the  Sabbath  which 
had  set  Israel  apart  from  all  other  nations,  but 
it  was  the  idolatry  of  all  other  nations  that 
caused  God  to  set  the  Hebrews  apart  for  himself; 
and  that  God  gave  to  Israel  the  Sabbath  which 
he  had  hallowed  for  mankind  at  creation  as  the 
most  expressive  sign  that  he  who  thus  sanctified 
them  was  indeed  the  living  God. 

It  was  the  act  of  God  in  giving  his  Sabbath  to 
the  Israelites  that  rendered  it  a  sign  hehveeii  them 
and  himself.  But  the  Sabbath  did  not  derive  its 
existence  from  being  thus  given  to  the  Hebrews ; 
for  it  w^as  the  ancient  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  when 
given  to  them,  and  we  have  seen  ^  that  it  was  not 
given  by  a  new  commandment.  On  the  contrary, 
it  rested  at  that  time  upon  existing  obligation. 
But  it  was  the  providence  of  God  in  behalf  of  the 
Hebrews,  first  in  rescuing  them  from  abject  servi- 
tude, and  second,  in  sending  them  bread  from 
heaven  for  six  days,  and  preserving  food  for  the 
Sabbath,  that  constituted  the  Sabbath  a  gift  to 
that  people.  And  mark  the  significancy  of  the 
raanner  in  which  this  gift  was  bestowed,  as  show- 
ing who  it  was  that  sanctified  them.  It  became 
a  gift  to  the  Hebrews  by  the  wonderful  provi- 

1  Gen.  17  :  r,  8  ;  26  :  24  ;  28  :  13  ;  Ex.  3  :  6,  13-16,  18  ;  5:3;  Isa. 
45  ;  3.         =  Lev.  11 :  45.         ^  See  chapter  third. 


SABBATH    WRITTEN    BY    GOD.  57 

dence  of  the  manna :  a  miracle  that  ceased  not 
openly  to  declare  the  Sabbath  every  week  for  the 
space  of  forty  years  ;  thus  showing  incontroverti- 
bly  that  He  who  led  them  was  the  author  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  therefore  the  Creator  of  heaven  and 
earth.  That  the  Sabbath  which  was  made  for 
man  should  thus  be  given  to  the  Hebrews  is  cer- 
tainly not  more  remarkable  than  that  the  God  of 
the  whole  earth  should  give  his  oracles  and  him- 
self to  that  people.  The  Most  High  and  his  law 
and  Sabbath  did  not  become  Jewish;  but  the 
Hebrews  were  made  the  honored  depositaries  of 
divine  truth ;  and  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of 
his  commandments  was  preserved  in  the  earth. 

The  reason  on  which  this  sign  is  based,  points 
unmistakably  to  the  true  origin  of  the  Sabbath. 
It  did  not  originate  from  the  fall  of  the  manna  for 
six  days  and  its  cessation  on  the  seventh — for  the 
manna  was  given  thus  because  the  Sabbath  was 
in  existence — but  because  that  "  in  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  on  the  seventh 
day  he  rested  and  was  refreshed."  Thus  the 
Sabbath  is  shown  to  have  originated  with  the 
rest  and  refreshment  of  the  Creator,  and  not  at 
the  fall  of  the  manna.  As  an  institution,  the 
Sabbath  declared  its  Author  to  be  the  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth;  as  a  sign ^  between  God  and 

1  As  a  sign  it  did  not  thereby  become  a  shadow  and  a  cere- 
mony, for  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  was  himself  a  sign.  "Be- 
hold, I  and  the  children  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  me  are  for 
signs  and  wonders  in  Israel  from  the  Lord  of  hosts,  which 
dwelleth  in  Mount  Zion.  Isa.  8  :  18.  In  Heb.  2  :  13,  this  language 
is  referred  to  Christ.  "And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto 
Mary  his  mother,  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising 
again  of  many  in  Israel ;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be  spoken 
against."  Luke  2  :  34.  That  the  Sabbath  was  a  sign  between 
God  and  Israel  throughout  their  generations,  that  is,  for  tbe 
time  that  they  were  his  peculiar  people,  no  more  proves  that  it  is 
now  abolished  than  the  fact  that  Jesus  is  now  a  sign  that  is 
Sabbath  History.  r» 


58  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

Israel,  it  declared  that  he  who  had  set  them  apart 
was  indeed  Jehovah. 

The  last  act  of  the  Law-giver  in  this  memorable 
interview  was  to  place  in  the  hands  of  Moses  the 
"  two  tables  of  testimony,  tables  of  stone,  written 
with  the  finger  of  God."  Then  he  revealed  to 
Moses  the  sad  apostasy  of  the  people  of  Israel, 
and  hastened  him  down  to  them. 

^'  And  Moses  turned,  and  went  down  from  the  mount, 
and  the  two  tables  of  the  testimony  vrere  in  his  hand  : 
the  tables  were  written  on  both  their  sides  :  on  the  one 
side  and  on  the  other  were  they  written.  And  the  tables 
were  the  work  of  God,  and  the  writing  was  the  writing 
of  God,  graven  upon  the  tables.  .  .  .  And  it  came  to 
pass,  as  soon  as  he  came  nigh  unto  the  camp,  that  he  saw 
the  calf,  and  the  dancing  :  and  Moses'  anger  waxed  hot, 
and  he  cast  the  tables  out  of  his  hands,  and  brake  them 
beneath  the  mount." 

Then  Moses  inflicted  retribution  upon  the  idol- 
aters, "  and  there  fell  of  the  people  that  day  about 

spoken  against  proves  that  he  will  cease  to  exist  when  he  shall 
no  longer  be  such  a  sign.  Nor  does  this  language  argue  that  the 
Sabbath  was  made  for  them,  or  that  its  obligation  ceased  when 
they  ceased  to  be  the  people  of  God.  For  the  prohibition  against 
eating  blood  was  a  perpetual  statute  for  their  generations;  yet  it 
was  given  to  ISToah  when  God  first  permitted  the  use  of  animal 
food,  and  was  still  obligatory  upon  the  Gentiles  when  the  apos- 
tles turned  to  them.     Lev.  3  :  17  ;  Gen.  9  :  1-4;  Acts  15. 

The  penalty  of  death  at  the  hand  of  the  civil  magistrate  is 
affixed  to  the  violation  of  the  Sabbath.  The  same  penalty  is 
affixed  to  most  of  the  precepts  of  the  moral  law.  Lev.  20;  9,  10; 
24  :  15-17  ;  Deut.  13  :  6-18 ;  17  :  2-7.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  the  moral  law  embracing  the  Sabbath  formed  a  part  of  the 
CIVIL  code  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  As  such,  the  great  Law-giver 
annexed  penalties  to  be  inflicted  bv  the  magistrate,  thus  doubt- 
less shadowing  forth  the  final  retribution  of  the  ungodly.  Such 
penalties  were  suspended  by  that  remarkable  decision  of  the 
Saviour  that  those  who  were  without  sin  should  cast  the  first 
stone.  But  such  a  Being  will  arise  to  punish  men,  when  the 
hailstones  of  his  wrath  shall  desolate  the  earth.  Our  Lord  did 
not,  however,  set  aside  the  real  penalty  of  the  law,  tlie  wa^es  of 
sin,  nor  did  he  weaken  that  precept  which  had  been  violated. 
John  8:1-9;  Job  3S  :  22,  23  ;  Lsa.  2S  :  17  ;  Rev.  IG  :  17-2J  ;  Rom. 
fi  :  23. 


SABBATH    WRITTEN    BY    GOD.  59 

three  thousand  men."  And  Moses  returned  unto 
God  and  interceded  in  behalf  of  the  people.  Then 
God  promised  that  his  angel  should  go  with  them, 
but  that  he  himself  would  not  go  up  in  their 
midst  lest  he  should  consume  them.  ^  Then  Mo- 
ses presented  an  earnest  supplication  to  the  Most 
High  that  he  might  see  his  glory.  This  petition 
was  granted,  saving  that  the  face  of  God  should 
not  be  seen.  ^ 

'  But  before  Moses  ascended  that  he  might  be- 
hold the  majesty  of  the  infinite  Law-giver,  the 
Lord  said  unto  him  : — 

' '  Hew  tliee  two  tables  of  stone  like  unto  the  first  :  and 
I  will  write  upon  these  tables  the  words  that  were  in  the 
first  tables,  which  thou  brakest.  .  .  .  And  he  hewed  two 
tables  of  stone  like  unto  the  first ;  and  Moses  rose  up 
early  in  the  morning,  and  went  up  unto  Mount  Sinai,  as 
the  Lord  had  commanded  him,  and  took  in  his  hand  the 
two  tables  of  stone.  And  the  Lord  descended  in  the 
cloud,  and  stood  with  him  there,  and  proclaimed  the 
name  of  the  Lord.     And  the  Lord  passed  by  before  him." 

Then  Moses  beheld  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and 
he  "  made  haste  and  bowed  his  head  toward  the 
earth  and  worshiped."  This  interview  lasted 
forty  days  and  forty  nights,  as  did  the  first,  and 
seems  to  have  been  spent  by  Moses  in  intercession 
that  God  would  not  destroy  the  people  for  their 
sin.  ^  The  record  of  this  period  is  very  brief,  but 
in  this  record  the  Sabbath  is  mentioned.  "  Six 
days  thou  shalt  work,  but  on  the  seventh  day 
thou  shalt  rest:  in  earing  time  and  in  harvest 
thou  shalt  rest."  ^     Thus  admonishinor  them  not  to 


1  This  fact  will  shed  light  upon  those  texts  which  introduce  the 
agencj  of  angels  in  the  giving  of  the  law.  Acts  7  :  38,  53  ;  Gal. 
3  :  19  ;    Heb.  ii :  2.  ^  Ex.  32  ;  33.  3  Ex.  3i  ;  Deut.  0. 

^  Ex.  34:21. 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

forget  in  their  busiest  season  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord. 

This  second  period  of  forty  days  ends  like  the 
fii'st  with  the  act  of  God  in  placing  the  tables  of 
stone  in  the  hands  of  Moses.  "  And  he  was  there 
with  the  Lord  forty  days  and  forty  nights ;  he 
did  neither  eat  bread,  nor  drink  water.  And  he  ^ 
wrote  upon  the  tables  the  words  of  the  cov^enant, 
the  ten  commandments."  Thus  it  appears  that 
the  tables  of  testimony  were  two  tables  of  stond 
with  the  ten  commandments  written  upon  them 
by  the  finger  of  God.  Thus  the  testimon}^  of 
God  is  shown  to  be  the  ten  commandments.  The 
writing  on  the  second  tables  was  an  exact  copy 
of  that  on  the  first.  "Hew  thee  two  tables  of 
stone  like  unto  the  first ;  and  I  will  write,"  said 
God,  "upon  these  tables  the  words  that  were  in 
the  first  tables,  which  thou   brakest."     And    of 


1  The  idea  has  been  suggested  by  some  from  this  verse  that 
it  was  Moses  and  not  God  who  wrote  the  second  tables.  This 
view  is  thought  to  be  strengthened  by  the  previous  verse  :  "  Write 
thou  these  words  :  for  after  the  tenor  of  these  words  I  have  made 
a  covenant  with  thee  and  with  Israel."  But  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  words  upon  the  tables  of  stone  were  the  ten  command- 
ments ;  while  the  words  liere  referred  to  were  those  which  God 
spoke  to  Moses  during  this  interview  of  forty  days,  beginning 
with  verse  10  and  extending  to  verse  27.  That  the  pronoun  he  in 
verse  28  might  properly  enough  refer  to  Moses,  if  positive  testi- 
mony did  not  forbid  such  reference,  is  readily  admitted.  That  it 
is  necessary  to  attend  to  the  connection  in  deciding  the  anteced- 
ents of  i^ronouns,  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  2  Sam.  2i  :  1,  where 
the  pronoun  he  would  naturally  refer  to  the  Lord,  thus  making 
God  the  one  who  moved  David  to  number  Israel.  Yet  the  con- 
nection shows  that  this  was  not  the  case  ;  for  the  anger  of  the 
Lord  was  kindled  by  the  act;  and  1  Chron.  21 :  1,  positively  de- 
clares that  Ae  who  thus  moved  David  was  Satan.  For  positive 
testimony  that  it  was  God  and  not  Moses  who  wrote  upon  the  sec- 
ond tables,  see  Ex.  34  :  1 ;  Deut.  10 :  1-5.  These  texts  carefully 
discriminate  between  the  work  of  Moses  and  the  work  of  God, 
assigning  the  preparation  of  the  tables,  the  carrying  of  them  up 
to  the  mount  and  the  bi'inging  of  them  down  from  the  mount,  to 
Moses,  but  expressly  assigning  the  writing  on  the  tables  to  (iod 
himself. 


SABBATH    WRITTKN    BY    GOD.  61 

the  first  tables  Moses  says :  "  He  declared  unto 
you  his  covenant,  which  he  commanded  you  to 
perform,  even  ten  commandments ;  and  he  wrote 
them  upon  two  tables  of  stone."  * 

Thus  did  God  commit  to  his  people  the  ten 
commandments.  Without  human  or  angelic 
agency  he  proclaimed  them  himself;  and  not 
trusting  his  most  honored  servant  Moses,  or  even 
an  angel  of  his  presence,  himself  wrote  them  with 
his  own  finger.  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to 
keep  it  holy,"  is  one  of  the  ten  words  thus  hon- 
ored by  the  Most  High.  Nor  are  these  two  high 
honors  the  only  ones  conferred  upon  this  precept. 
While  it  shares  them  in  common  with  the  other 
nine  commandments,  it  stands  in  advance  of  them 
in  that  it  is  established  by  the  example  of  the 
Law-giver  himself  These  precepts  were  given 
upon  two  tables  with  evident  reference  to  the 
two-fold  division  of  the  law  of  God;  supreme 
love  to  God,  and  the  love  of  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves. The  Sabbath  commandment,  placed  at 
the  close  of  the  first  table,  forms  the  golden  clasp 
that  binds  together  botli  divisions  of  the  moral 
law.  It  guards  and  enforces  that  day  which  God 
claims  as  his;  it  follows  man  through  the  six 
days  which  God  has  given  him  to  be  properly 
spent  in  the  various  relations  of  life,  thus  extend- 
ing over  the  whole  of  human  life,  and  embracing 
in  its  loan  of  six  days  to  man  all  the  duties  of 
the  second  table,  while  itself  belonm no-  to  the  first. 

That  these  ten  commandments  form  a  complete 
code  of  moral  law  is  proved  by  the  language  of 
the  Law-giver  when  he  called  Moses  up  to  him- 
self to  receive  them.     "  Come  up  to  me  into  the 

1  Ex.  34  :  1,  28  ;   Dent.  4  :  12, 13  ;  5  :  22. 


62  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

mount,  and  be  there :  and  I  will  give  thee  tables 
of  stone,  and  a  law,  and  commandments  which  I 
have  written."^  This  law  and  commandments 
was  the  testimony  of  God  engraven  upon  stone. 
The  same  great  fact  is  presented  by  Moses  in  his 
blessing  pronounced  upon  Israel :  "And  he  said. 
The  Lord  came  from  Sinai,  and  rose  up  from  Seir 
unto  them :  he  shined  forth  from  Mount  Paran, 
and  he  came  with  ten  thousands  of  saints  :  froni 
his  right  hand  went  a  fiery  law  for  them." ^  There 
can  be  no  dispute  that  in  this  language  the  Most 
High  is  represented  as  personally  present  with 
ten  thousands  of  his  holy  ones,  or  angels.  And 
that  which  he  wrote  with  his  own  right  hand  is 
called  by  Moses  "  a  fiery  law,"  or  as  the  margin 
has  it,  "a  fire  of  law."  And  now  the  man  of  God 
completes  his  sacred  trust.  And  thus  he  rehearses 
what  God  did  in  committing  his  law  to  him,  and 
what  he  himself  did  in  its  final  disposition  :  "  And 
he  wrote  on  the  tables,  according  to  the  first  writ- 
ing, the  ten  commandments,  which  the  Lord 
spake  unto  you  in  the  mount  out  of  the  midst  of 
the  fire  in  the  day  of  the  assembly:  and  the 
Lord  gave  them  unto  me.  And  I  turned  myself 
and  came  down  from  the  mount,  and  put  the  ta- 
bles in  the  ark  which  I  had  made  ;  and  there 
they  be,  as  the  Lord  commanded  me."  Thus  was 
the  law  of  God  deposited  in  the  ark  beneath  the 
mercy-seat."^  Nor  should  this  chapter  close  with- 
out pointing  out  the  important  relation  of  the 
fourth  commandment  to  the  atonement. 

The  top  of  the  ark  was  called  the  mercy-seat, 

1  Ex.  24  :  12. 

2  Deut.  33  :  2.  That  angels  are  sometimes  called  saints  or  holy 
ones,  see  Dan.  8  :  13-16.  That  anp^cls  were  present  with  God  at 
Sinai,  see  I\s.  OS  :  17.  "  Dent.  10  :  1,  .".;    Ex.  25  :  10-22. 


SABBATH    WRITTEN    BY    GOD.  63 

because  all  those  who  had  broken  the  law  con- 
tained in  the  ark  beneath  the  mercy-seat,  could 
find  pardon  by  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of 
atonement  upon  it. 

The  law  within  the  ark  was  that  which  de- 
manded an  atonement ;  the  ceremonial  law  which 
ordained  the  Levitical  priesthood  and  the  sacrifices 
for  sin,  was  that  which  taught  men  how  the 
atonement  could  be  made.  The  broken  law  was 
beneath  the  mercy-seat ;  the  blood  of  sin-offering 
was  sprinkled  upon  its  top,  and  pardon  was  ex- 
tended to  the  penitent  sinner.  There  was  actual 
sin,  and  hence  a  real  law  which  man  had  broken ; 
but  there  was  not  a  real  atonement,  and  hence 
the  need  of  the  great  antitype  to  the  Levitical 
sacrifices.  The  real  atonement  when  it  is  made 
must  relate  to  that  law  respecting  which  an 
atonement  had  been  shadowed  forth.  In  other 
words,  the  shadowy  atonement  related  to  that 
law  which  was  shut  up  in  the  ark,  indicating 
that  a  real  atonement  was  demanded  by  that 
law.  It  is  necessary  that  the  law  which  de- 
mands atonement,  in  order  that  its  transgressor 
may  be  spared,  should  itself  be  perfect,  else  the 
fault  would  in  part  at  least  rest  with  the  Law- 
giver, and  not  wholly  with  the  sinner.  Hence, 
the  atonement  when  made  does  not  take  away 
the  broken  law,  for  that  is  perfect,  but  is  expressly 
designed  to  take  away  the  guilt  of  the  trans- 
gressor. ^  Let  it  be  remembered  then  that  the 
fourth  commandment  is  one  of  the  ten  precepts 
of  God's  broken  law ;  one  of  the  immutable  holy 
principles  that  made  the  death  of  God's  only  Son 
necessary  before  pardon  could  be   extended  to 

J 1  John  3  :  4,  5. 


64  IIISTOllV    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

guilty  man.  These  facts  being  borne  in  mind,  it 
will  not  be  thought  strange  that  the  Law-giver 
should  reserve  the  proclamation  of  such  a  law  to 
himself;  and  that  he  should  intrust  to  no  cre- 
ated being  the  writing  of  that  law  which  should 
demand  as  its  atonement  the  death  of  the  Son 
of  God. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE   SABBATH   DURING   THE   DAY  OF   TEMPTATION. 

General  history  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  wilderness — Its  viola- 
tion one  cause  of  excluding  that  generation  from  the  prom- 
ised land — Its  violation  by  their  children  in  the  wilderness 
one  of  the  causes  of  their  final  dispersion  from  their  own 
land — The  statute  respecting  fires  upon  the  Sabbath — Va- 
rious precepts  relative  to  the  Sabbath — The  Sabbath  not  a 
Jewish  feast — The  man  who  gathered  sticks  upon  the  Sab- 
bath— Appeal  of  Moses  in  behalf  of  the  decalogue — The 
Sabbath  not  derived  from  the  covenant  at  Horeb — Final 
appeal  of  Moses  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath — The  original 
fourth  commandment — The  Sabbath  not  a  memorial  of  the 
flight  from  Egypt — What  words  were  engraven  upon  stone 
— General  summary  from  the  books  of  INIoses. 

The  history  of  the  Sabbath  during  the  provo- 
cation in  the  day  of  temptation  in  the  wilderness 
when  God  was  giieved  for  forty  years  with  his 
people  may  be  stated  in  few  words.  Even  under 
the  eye  of  Moses,  and  with  the  most  stupendous 
miracles  in  their  memory  and  before  tlieir  eyes, 
they  were  idolaters,  ^  neglecters  of  sacrifices,  neg- 
lecters  of  circumcision, "  murmurers  against  God, 
despisers  of  his  law  ^  and  violators  of  his  Sab- 

1  Ex.  32  ;  Josh.  24  :  2,  14,  23  ;  E/.e.  20  :  7,  8,  16,  IS,  24. 

2  Amos  5  :  25-27  ;  Acts  7  :  41-43  ;  Josh.  5  :  2-8. 

3  Num.  14  ;  Ph.  !)5  ;  Eze.  20  :  13. 


IN    THE    DAY    OF    TEMPTATION.  G5 

bath.  Of  their  treatment  of  the  Sabbath  while 
in  the  wilderness,  Ezekiel  gives  us  the  following 
graphic  description  : — 

"  But  the  house  of  Israel  rebelled  against  me  in  the 
wilderness  :  they  walked  not  in  my  statutes,  and  they 
despised  my  judgments,  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  even 
live  in  them  ;  and  my  Sabbaths  they  greatly  polluted  : 
then  I  said,  I  would  pour  out  my  fury  upon  them  in  the 
wilderness,  to  consume  them.  But  I  wrought  for  my 
name's  sake,  that  it  should  not  be  polluted  before  the 
heathen,  in  whose  sight  I  brought  them  out."  ^ 

This  language  shows  a  general  violation  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  evidently  refers  to  the  apostasy  of 
Israel  during  the  first  forty  days  that  Moses  was 
absent  from  them.  God  did  then  purpose  their 
destruction;  but  at  the  intercession  of  Moses, 
spared  them  for  the  very  reason  assigned  by  the 
prophet.^  A  farther  probation  being  granted  them 
they  signally  failed  a  second  time,  so  that  God 
lifted  up  his  hand  to  them  that  they  should  not 
enter  the  promised  land.  Thus  the  prophet  con- 
tinues : — 

"  Yet  also  I  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  them  in  the  wilder- 
ness, that  I  would  not  bring  them  into  the  land  which  I 
had  given  them,  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  which  is 
the  glory  of  all  lands  ;  because  they  despised  my  judg- 
ments, and  walked  not  in  my  statutes,  but  polluted  my 
Sabbaths  :  for  their  heart  went  after  their  idols.  Never- 
theless mine  eye  spared  them  from  destroying  them, 
neither  did  I  make  an  end  of  them  in  the  wilderness." 

This  language  has  undoubted  reference  to  the 
act  of  God  in  excluding  all  that  were  over  twenty 
years  of  age  from  entering  the  promised  land. ' 
It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  violation  of  the  Sab- 
bath is  distinctly  stated  as  one  of  the  reasons  for 
which  that  generation  were  excluded  from  the 

1  Eze.  20  :  13-24.  2  Ex.  32.  3  Xum.  14. 


6(3  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

land  of  promise.  God  spared  the  people  so  that 
the  nation  was  not  utterly  cut  off;  for  he  ex- 
tended to  the  younger  part  a  further  probation. 
Thus  the  prophet  continues  : — 

"But  I  said  unto  their  children  in  the  wilderness, 
Walk  ye  not  in  the  statutes  of  your  fathers,  neither  ob- 
serve their  judgments,  nor  dehle  yourselves  with  their 
idols  :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  ;  walk  in  my  statutes,  and 
keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them  ;  and  hallow  my  Sab- 
baths ;  and  they  shall  be  a  sign  between  me  and  you, 
that  ye  may  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.  Not- 
withstanding the  children  rebelled  against  me  :  they 
walked  not  in  my  statutes,  neither  kept  my  j  udgments  to 
do  them,  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  even  live  in  them  ; 
they  polluted  my  Sabbaths  :  then  I  said,  I  would  pour 
out  my  fury  upon  them,  to  accomplish  my  anger  against 
them  in  the  wilderness.  Nevertheless  I  withdrew  mine 
hand,  and  wrought  for  my  name's  sake,  that  it  should 
not  be  polluted  in  the  sight  of  the  heathen,  in  whose 
sight  I  brought  them  forth.  I  lifted  up  mine  hand  unto 
them  also  in  the  wilderness,  that  I  would  scatter  them 
among  the  heathen,  and  disperse  them  through  the  coun- 
tries ;  because  they  had  not  executed  my  judgments,  but 
had  despised  my  statutes,  and  had  polluted  my  Sabbaths, 
and  their  eyes  were  after  their  father's  idols," 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  younger  generation, 
which  God  spared  when  he  excluded  their  fathers 
from  the  land  of  promise,  did,  like  their  fathers, 
transgress  God's  law,  pollute  his  Sabbath,  and 
cleave  to  idolatry.  God  did  not  see  lit  to  exclude 
them  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  but  he  did  lift  up 
his  hand  to  them  in  the  wilderness,  that  he  would 
give  them  up  to  dispersion  among  their  enemies 
after  they  had  entered  the  land  of  promise.  Thus 
it  is  seen  that  the  Hebrews  while  in  the  wilder- 
ness laid  the  foundation  for  their  subsequent  dis- 
persion from  their  own  land  :  and  that  one  of  the 
acts  which  led  to  their  final  ruin  as  a  nation  was 
the  violation  of  the  Sabbath  before  they  had  en- 


IN    THE    DAY    OF    TEMPTATION.*  67 

tered  the  promised  land.  Well  might  Moses  say 
to  them  in  the  last  month  of  his  life  :  "  Ye  have 
been  rebellious  against  the  Lord  from  the  day 
that  I  knew  you."  ^  In  Caleb  and  Joshua  was 
another  spirit,  for  they  followed  the  Lord  fully. ^ 
Such  is  the  general  history  of  Sabbatic  observ- 
ance in  the  wilderness.  Even  the  miracle  of  the 
manna,  which  every  week  for  forty  years  bore 
public  testimony  to  the  Sabbath/  became  to  the 
body  of  the  Hebrews  a  mere  ordinary  event,  so 
that  they  dared  to  murmur  against  the  bread  thus 
sent  from  heaven  ;*  and  we  may  well  believe  that 
those  who  were  thus  hardened  through  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  sin,  had  little  regard  for  the  testi- 
mony of  the  manna  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath.^ 
In  the  Mosaic  record  we  next  read  of  the  Sab- 
bath as  follows : — 

"And  Moses  gathered  all  the  congregation  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  together,  and  said  unto  them,  These  are 
the  words  which  the  Lord  hath  commanded,  that  ye 
should  do  them.  Six  days  shall  work  be  done,  but  on 
the  seventh  day  there  shall  be  to  you  an  holy  day,  a  Sab- 
bath of  rest  to  the  Lord  :  whosoever  doeth  work  therein 
shall  be  put  to  death. ^  Ye  shall  kindle  no  fire  through- 
out your  habitations  upon  the  Sabbath  day."  ^ 

The  chief  feature  of  interest  in  this  text  relates 
to  the  prohibition  of  fires  on  the  Sabbath.  As 
this  is  the  only  prohibition  of  the  kind  in  the  Bi- 
ble, and  as  it  is  often  urged  as  a  reason  why  the 
Sabbath  should  not  be  kept,  a  brief  examination 
of  the   difiiculty  will  not  be  out  of  place.     It 

1  Deut.  9  :  24.  2  Num.  14  ;  Heb.  3  :  16, 

3  Ex.  16  ;  Josh.  5  :  12.  4  Xum.  11  ;  21. 

5  A  comparison  of  Ex.  19  ;  20  :  18-21  ;  24  :  3-8,  -^vith  chapter  32, 
will  !^ho\v  the  astonishing  transitions  of  the  Hebrews  from  faith  and 
obedience  to  rebellion  and  idolatr3\  See  a  general  history  of  these 
acts  in  Ps.  78  ;  106. 

«  For  a  notice  of  this  penalty  see  chapter  5.  "  Ex.  35  : 1-3. 


OH  HTSTOKV    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

should  be  observed,  1.  Tliat  this  lanoTuicre  does 
not  form  part  of  the  fourth  commandment,  the 
grand  law  of  the  Sabbath.  2.  That  as  there 
were  laws  pertaining  to  the  Sabbath,  that  were 
no  part  of  the  Sabbatic  institution,  but  that  grew 
out  of  its  being  intrusted  to  the  Hebrews,  such 
as  the  law  respecting  the  presentation  of  the 
shew-bread  on  the  Sabbii'.h;  and  that  respecting 
the  burnt- offering  for  the  Sabbath  :  ^  so  it  is  at 
least  possible  that  this  is  a  precept  pertaining 
only  to  that  nation,  and  not  a  part  of  the  orig- 
inal institution.  3.  That  as  there  were  laws  pe- 
culiar only  to  the  Hebrews,  so  there  were  many 
that  pertained  to  them  only  while  they  were  in 
the  wilderness.  Such  were  all  those  precepts  that 
related  to  the  manna,  the  building  of  the  taber- 
nacle and  the  setting  of  it  up,  the  manner  of  en- 
camping about  it,  kc.  4.  That  of  this  class  were 
all  the  statutes  given  from  the  time  that  Moses 
brought  down  the  second  tables  of  stone  until 
the  close  of  the  book  of  Exodus,  unless  the  words 
under  consideration  form  an  exception.  5.  That 
the  prohibition  of  fires  was  a  law  of  this  class, 
i.  e.,  a  law  designed  only  for  the  wilderness,  is 
evident  from  several  decisive  facts. 

1.  That  the  land  of  Palestine  during  a  part  of 
the  year  is  so  cold  that  fires  are  necessary  to  pre- 
vent sufferino\- 


1  Lev.  24  :  5-9  ;  Num.  28  :  0,  10. 

2  The  Bible  abounds  with  facts  which  establish  this  proposition. 
Thus  the  psalmist,  in  an  address  to  Jerusalem,  uses  the  following 
language:  "He  givetli  snow  like  wool ;  he  scattereth  the  hoar- 
frost like  ashes.  He  casteth  forth  his  ice  like  morsels;  who  can 
stand  before  his  cold?  He  sendeth  out  his  word,  and  melteth 
them;  he  causeth  his  wind  to  blow,  and  the  waters  flow.  He 
showeth  his  word  unto  Jacob,  his  statutes  and  his  judgments  unto 
Israel."  Ps.  147  :  lti-19.  Dr.  Chtrke  has  the  following  note  on 
this  text :  "At  particular  times  the  cold  in  the  East  is  so  very  in- 


IN    THE    DAY   OF    TEMPTATION.  69 

2.  That  the  Sabbath  was  not  designed  to  be  a 
cause  of  distress  and  suffering,  but  of  refreshment, 
of  delight,  and  of  blessing/ 

3.  That  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  where  this 
precept  respecting  fires  on  the  Sabbath  was  given, 
it  was  not  a  cause  of  suffering,  as  they  were  two 
hundred  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  warm 
climate  of  Arabia. 

4.  That  this  precept  was  of  a  temporary  char- 
acter, is  further  implied  in  that  while  other-  laws 
are  said  to  be  perpetual  statutes  and  precepts  to 


tense  as  to  kill  man  and  beast.  Jacobus  cle  Vitriaco,  one  of  the 
writers  in  the  Gesta  Dei  per  Francos,  says  that  in  an  expedition 
in  which  he  was  engaged  against  Mount  Tabor,  on  the  24th  of 
December,  the  cold  was  so  intense  that  many  of  the  poor  people, 
and  the  beasts  of  burthen  died  by  it.  And  Alhertus  Aquensis,  an- 
other of  these  writers,  speaking  of  the  cold  in  Judea,  says  that 
f flirt//  of  the  people  who  attended  Baldwin  I.,  in  the  mountainous 
districts  near  the  Dead  Sea,  were  killed  by  it;  and  that  in  that 
expedition  they  had  to  contend  with  horrible  hail  and  ice  ;  with 
unheard  of  snow  and  rain.  From  this  we  find  that  the  winters 
are  often  Aery  severe  in  Judea  ;  and  that  in  such  cases  as  the 
above  we  may  well  call  out,  Who  can  stand  against  his  cold!" 
See  his  commentary  on  Ps.  147.  See  also  Jer.  36  :  22  ;  John  IS  : 
18  ;  Matt.  24  :  20;  Mark  13  :  18.  1  Maccabees  13  :  22,  mentions  a 
very  great  snow  storm  in  Palestine,  so  that  horsemen  could  not 
march. 

1  The  testimony  of  the  Bible  on  this  point  is  very  explicit.  Thus 
we  read  ;  "  Six  days  thou  shalt  do  thy  work,  and  on  the  seventh 
day  thou  shalt  rest :  that  thine  ox  and  thine  ass  may  rest,  and  the 
son  of  thy  handmaid,  and  the  stranger,  may  be  refreshed."  Ex. 
23  :  12.  To  be  without  fire  in  the  severity  of  winter  would  cause 
the  Sabbath  to  be  a  curse  and  not  a  refreshment.  It  would  ruin 
the  health  of  those  who  should  thus  expose  themselves,  and  ren- 
der the  Sabbath  anything  but  a  source  of  refreshment.  The 
prophet  uses  the  following  language  :  "  If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot 
from  the  Sabbath,  from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day  :  and 
call  the  Sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honorable."  etc. 
The  Sabbath  then  was  designed  by  God  to  be  a  source  of  delight 
to  his  people,  and  not  a  cause  of  sufltering.  The  merciful  and  be- 
neficent character  of  the  Sabbath  is  seen  in  the  following  texts  : 
Matt.  12  :  10-13  ;  Mark  2  :  27,  28  ;  Luke  14  :  3-6.  From  them  we 
learn  that  God  regards  the  sufterings  of  the  brute  creation,  and 
would  have  them  alleviated  upon  the  Sabbath  ;  how  much  more 
the  distress  and  the  needs  of  his  x>eople,  for  whose  refreshment 
and  delio-ht  the  Sabbath  was  made. 


<U  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAHBATH. 

be  kept  after  they  should  enter  the  land/  no  hint 
of  this  kind  here  appears.  On  the  contrary,  this 
seems  to  be  similar  in  character  to  the  precept  re- 
specting the  manna,  ^  and  to  be  co-existent  with, 
and  adapted  to,  it. 

5.  If  the  prohibition  respecting  fires  did  indeed 
pertain  to  the  promised  land,  and  not  merely  to 
the  wilderness,  it  would  every  few  years  conflict 
directly  with  the  law  of  the  passover.  For  the 
passover  was  to  be  roasted  by  each  family  of  the 
children  of  Israel  on  the  evenins^  folio wingr  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month, ^  which  would 
fall  occasionally  upon  the  Sabbath.  The  prohi- 
bition of  fires  upon  the  Sabbath  would  not  conflict 
with  the  passover  while  the  Hebrews  were  in  the 
wilderness ;  for  the  passover  was  not  to  be  ob- 
served until  they  reached  that  land.^  But  if  that 
prohibition  did  extend  forward  to  the  promised 
land,  where  the  passover  was  to  be  regularly  ob- 
served, these  two  statutes  would  often  come  in 
direct  conflict.  This  is  certainly  a  strong  con- 
firmation of  the  view  that  the  prohibition  of  fires 
upon  the  Sabbath  was  a  temporary  statute,  relat- 
ing only  to  the  wilderness.^ 

1  Ex.  29  :  9  ;  31 :  16 ;  Lev.  3  :  17  ;  24  :  9  ;  Num.  19  :  21 ;  Dent.  5 : 
31 ;  6:1;  7.  The  number  and  variety  of  these  allusions  will  sur- 
prise the  inquirer. 

2  Ex.  16  :  23.  3  Ex.  12 ;  Deut.  16. 

4  The  law  of  the  passover  certainly  contemplated  the  arrival  of 
the  Hebrews  in  the  promised  land  before  its  regular  observance. 
Ex.  12 :  25.  Indeed,  it  was  only  once  observed  in  the  wilderness ; 
namely,  in  the  year  following  their  departure  from  Egypt;  and 
after  that,  was  omitted  until  they  entered  the  land  of  Canaan. 
Num.  9 ;  Josh.  5.  This  is  proved,  not  merely  from  the  fact  that 
no  other  instances  are  recorded,  but  because  that  circumcision 
was  omitted  during  the  whole  period  of  their  sojourn  in  the  wil- 
derness ;  and  without  this  ordinance  the  children  would  have  been 
excluded  from  the  passover.     Ex.  12  ;  Josh.  5. 

^  Dr.  Gill,  who  considered  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  as  a  Jewish 
institution,  beginning  with   Moses,  and  ending  with  Christ,  and 


IN    THE    DAY    OF    TEMPTATION.  71 

From  these  facts  it  follows  that  the  favorite 
argument  drawn  from  the  prohibition  of  fires, 
that  the  Sabbath  was  a  local  institution,  adapted 
only  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  must  be  abandoned ; 
for  it  is  evident  that  that  prohibition  was  a  tem- 
porary statute  not  even  adapted  to  the  land  of 
promise,  and  not  designed  for  that  land.  We 
next  read  of  the  Sabbath  as  follows : — 

*' And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto 
all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto 
them,  Ye  shall  be  holy  ;  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy. 
Ye  shall  fear  every  man  his  mother,  and  his  father,  and 

keep  my  Sabbaths  :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God Ye 

shall  keep  my  Sabbaths,  and  reverence  my  sanctuary  :  I 
am  the  Lord."^ 

These  constant  references  to  the  Sabbath  con- 
ti'ast  strikingly  with  the  general  disobedience  of 
the  people.     And  thus  God  speaks  again : — 

' '  Six  days  shall  work  be  done  ;  but  the  seventh  day  is 
the  Sabbath  of  rest,  an  holy  convocation  ;  ye  shall  do  no 
work  therein  :  it  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  in  all  your 
dwellings."^ 

one  with  which  Gentiles  have  no  concern,  has  given  his  judgment 
concerning  this  question  of  fire  on  the  Sabbath.  He  certainly 
had  no  motive  in  this  case  to  answer  this  popular  objection  only 
that  of  stating  the  truth.     He  says : — 

"This  law  seems  to  be  a  temporary  one,  and  not  to  be  contin- 
ued, nor  is  it  said  to  be  throughout  their  generations,  as  else- 
where, where  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  given  or  repeated  ;  it  is  to 
be  restrained  to  the  building  of  the  tabernacle,  and  while  that  was 
about  to  which  it  is  prefaced ;  and  it  is  designed  to  prevent  all 
public  or  private  working  on  the  Sabbath  day  in  anything  belong- 
ing to  that ;"  etc. — Commentary  on  Ex.  35  :  3. 

Dr.  Bound  gives  us  St.  Augustine's  idea  of  this  precept :  "He 
doth  not  admonish  them  of  it  without  cause;  for  that  he  speaketh 
in  making  the  tabernacle,  and  all  things  belonging  to  it,  and 
showeth  that,  notwithstanding  that,  they  must  rest  upon  the  Sab- 
bath day,  and  not  under  the  color  of  that  (as  it  is  said  in  the  text) 
so  much  as  kindle  a  fire." — True  Doctrine  of  the  Sabbath,  p.  140. 

1  Lev.  19  : 1-3,  80. 

2  Lev.  23  :  3.  It  has  been  asserted  from  verse  2,  that  the  Sab- 
bath was  one  of  the  feasts  «f  the  Lord.     But  a  comparison  of  verses 


72  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Thus  does  God  solemnly  designate  his  rest-day 
as  a  season  of  holy  worship,  and  as  the  day  of 
weekly  religious  assemblies.  Again  the  great 
Law-giver  sets  forth  his  Sabbath  : — 

"  Ye  shall  make  you  no  idols  nor  graven  image,  neither 
rear  you  up  a  standing  image,  neither  shall  ye  set  up  any 
image  of  stone  in  yoiir  land,  to  bow  down  unto  it  ;  for  I 
am  the  Lord  your  God.  Ye  shall  keep  mj'-  Sabbaths,  and 
reverence  my  sanctuary  :  I  am  the  Lord."^ 

Happy  would  it  have  been  for  the  people  of 
God  had  tliey  thus  refrained  from  idolatry  and 
sacredly  regarded  the  rest-day  of  the  Creator. 
Yet  idolatry  and  Sabbath-breaking  were  so  gen- 
eral in  the  wilderness  that  the  generation  which 
came  forth  from  Egypt  were  excluded  from  the 
promised  land.^  After  God  had  thus  cut  off  from 
the  inheritance  of  the  land  the  men  who  had  re- 
belled asrainst  him,'^  we  next  read  of  the  Sabbath 
as  follows : — 

' '  And  while  the  children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wilder- 
ness, they  found  a  man  that  gathered  sticks  upon  the  Sab- 
bath day.  And  they  that  found  him  gathering  sticks 
brought  him  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  unto  aU  the  con- 
gregation. •  And  they  put  him  in  ward,  because  it  was  not 
declared  what  should  be  done  to  him.  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  The  man  shall  be  surely  put  to  death  ;  all 
the  congregation  shall  stone  him  with  stones  without  the 

2,  4,  shows  that  there  is  a  break  in  the  narrative,  for  the  purpose 
of  introducing  the  Sabbath  as  a  holy  convocation  ;  and  that  verse 
4  begins  the  theme  anew  in  the  very  hinguage  of  verse  2;  and  it 
i^to  be  observed  that  the  remainder  of  the  chapter  sets  forth  the 
actualJewish  feasts;  viz.,  that  of  unleavened  bread,  the  Pentecost, 
and  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  What  further  clears  this  point  of 
all  obscurity  is  the  fact  that  verses  37,  38,  carefully  discriminate 
between  the  feasts  of  the  Lord  and  the  Sabbaths  of  the  Lord.  But 
Ex.  23;  14,  settles  the  point  beyond  controversy:  "Three  times 
thou  Shalt  keep  a  feast  unto  me  in  the  year."  And  then  verses 
ir)-l7  enumerate  these  feasts  as  in  Lev.  23 ;  4-44.  See  also  2 
Chron.  8: 13. 

'  Lev.  2i);  1,  2.  -  Iv/.o.  2(i :  15,  It',.  ^  \um.  10;  14. 


IN   THE    DAY   OF   TEMPTATION.  73 

camp.  And  all  the  congregation  brought  him  without  the 
camp,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  and  he  died  ;  as  the 
Lord  commanded  Moses."  ^ 

The  following  facts  should  be  considered  in  ex- 
plaining this  text :  1.  That  this  was  a  case  of  pe- 
culiar guilt;  for  the  whole  congregation  before 
whom  this  man  stood  in  judgment,  and  by  whom 
he  was  put  to  death,  were  themselves  guilty  of 
violating  the  Sabbath,  and  had  just  been  excluded 
from  the  promised  land  for  this  and  other  sins.^ 
2.  That  this  was  not  a  case  which  came  under 
the  existing  penalty  of  death  for  work  upon  the 
Sabbath;  for  the  man  was  put  in  confinement 
that  tlie  mind  of  the  Lord  respecting  his  guilt 
might  be  obtained.  The  peculiarity  of  his  trans- 
gression may  be  learned  from  the  context.  The 
verses  which  next  precede  the  case  in  question 
read  thus : — 

"  But  the  soul  that  doeth  aught  presumptuously,  wheth- 
er he  be  born  in  the  land,  or  a  stranger,  the  same  re- 
proacheth  the  Lord  ;  and  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from 
among  his  people.  Because  he  hath  despised  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  and  hath  broken  his  commandment,  that  soul 
shall  utterly  be  cut  off;  his  iniquity  shall  be  upon  him.^ 

These  words  being  followed  by  this  remarkable 
case  were  evidently  designed  to  be  illustrated  by 
it.  It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  this  was  an  in- 
stance of  presumptuous  sin,  in  which  the  trans- 
gressor intended  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace 
and  to  the  statutes  of  the  Most  High.  This  case 
cannot  therefore  be  quoted  as  evidence  of  extraor- 
dinary strictness  on  the  part  of  the  Hebrews  in 
observing  the  Sabbath ;  for  we  have  direct  evi- 
dence that  they  did  greatly  pollute  it  during  the 

1  Num.  15  :  32-36.  2  Eze.  20  :  15,  16  comp.  with  Num.  U  :  35. 

3  Num.  15  :  30. 

Sahbith  Ui.'tnrv.  G 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

whole  forty  years  of  tlieir  sojourn  in  the  wilder- 
ness. ^  It  stands  therefore  as  an  instance  of  trans- 
gression in  which  the  sinner  intended  to  show  his 
contempt  for  the  Law-giver,  and  in  this  consisted 
his  peculiar  guilt.  ^ 

In  the  last  month  of  his  long  and  eventful  life 
Moses  rehearsed  all  the  great  acts  of  God  in  be- 
half of  his  people,  with  the  statutes  and  precepts 
that  he  had  given  them.  This  rehearsal  is  con- 
tained in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  a  name  which 
signifies  second  law,  and  which  is  applied  to  that 
book,  because  it  is  a  second  writing  of  the  law. 
It  is  the  farewell  of  Moses  to  a  disobedient  and 
rebellious  people;  and  he  endeavors  to  fasten 
upon  them  the  strongest  possible  sense  of  personal 
obligation  to  obey.  Thus,  when  he  is  about  to 
rehearse  the  ten  commandments,  he  uses  language 
evidently  designed  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
the  Hebrews  a  sense  of  their  individual  obligation 
to  do  what  God  had  commanded.  Thus  he 
says : — 

''Hear,  O  Israel,  the  statutes  and  judgments  which  I 
speak  in  your  ears  this  day,  that  ye  may  learn  them,  and 

lEze.  20. 

2  Hengstenberg,  a  distinguished  German  Anti-Sabbatarian,  thus 
candidly  treats  this  text :  **  A  man  who  had  gathered  wood 
on  the  Sabbath  is  brought  forth  at  the  command  of  the  Lord,  and 
stoned  by  the  whole  congregation  before  the  camp.  Calvin  says 
rightly,  '  The  guilty  man  did  not  fixll  through  error,  but  through 
gross  contempt  of  the  law,  so  that  he  treated  it  as  a  light  matter 
to  overthrow  and  destroy  all  that  is  holy.'  It  is  evident  from  the 
manner  of  its  introduction  that  the  account  is  not  given  with  any 
reference  to  its  chronological  position  ;  it  reads,  '  And  while  the 
children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wildo'iiess,  they  found  a  man  that 
gathered  sticks  upon  the  Sabbath  day.'  It  stands  simply  as  an 
example  of  the  presumptuous  breach  of  the  law.  of  which  the  pre- 
ceding verses  speak.  He  was  one  who  despised  the  word  of  the 
Lord  and  broke  his  commandments  [verse  31 J  ;  one  who  with  a 
high  hand  sinned  and  reproached  tnc  Lord.  Verse  30." — The 
Lord's  Day,  pp.  81,  32. 


IN   THE    DAY    OF   TEMPTATION.  75 

keep,  and  do  them.  The  Lord  our  God  made  a  covenant 
with  us  in  Horeb.  The  Lord  made  not  this  covenant  with 
our  fathers,  but  with  us,  even  us,  vdio  are  all  of  us  here 
alive  this  day."^ 

It  was  not  the  act  of  your  fathers  that  placed 
this  responsibility  upon  you,  but  your  oAvn  indi- 
vidual acts  that  brought  you  into  the  bond  of  this 
covenant.  You  have  personally  pledged  your- 
selves to  the  Most  High  to  keep  these  precepts.  ^ 
Such  is  the  obvious  import  of  this  language; 
yet  it  has  been  gravely  adducec^  as  proof  that  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was  made  for  the  Hebrews, 
and  was  not  obligatory  upon  the  patriarchs.  The 
singularity  of  this  deduction  appears  in  that  it  is 
brought  to  bear  against  the  fourth  commandment 
alone ;  whereas,  if  it  is  a  just  and  logical  argu- 
ment, it  would  show  that  the  ancient  patriarchs 
were  under  no  obligation  in  respect  to  any  precept 
of  the  moral  law.  But  it  is  certain  that  the  cov- 
enant at  Horeb  was  simply  an  embodiment  of 
the  precepts  of  the  moral  law,  with  mutual  pledges 
respecting  them  between  God  and  the  people, 
and  that  that  covenant  did  not  give  existence  to 
either  of  the  ten  commandments.  At  all  events, 
we  find  the  Sabbath  ordained  of  God  at  the  close 
of  creation  ^  and  obligatory  upon  the  Hebrews  in 
the  wilderness  before  God  had  given  them  a  new 
precept  on  the  subject.^  As  this  was  before  the 
covenant  at  Horeb  it  is  conclusive  proof  that  the 
Sabbath  did  no  more  originate  from  that  covenant 
than  did  the  prohibition  of  idolatry,  theft  or 
murder. 

1  Deut.  5  :  1-3. 

2  See  the  pledges  of  this  people  in  Ex.  19  ;  24. 

3  See  the  second  chapter  of  this  work.        *  See  chapter  third. 


76  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

The  man  of  God  then  repeats  the  ten  command- 
ments.    And  thus  he  gives  the  fourth  : — 

' '  Keep  the  Sabbath  day,  to  sanctify  it,  as  the  Lord  thy 
God  hath  commanded  thee.  Six  days  thou  shalt  labor 
and  do  all  thy  work  :  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord  thy  God  :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work, 
thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man-servant, 
nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thine  ox,  nor  thine  ass,  nor  any 
of  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates  ; 
that  thy  man-servant  and  thy  maid-servant  may  rest  as 
well  as  thou.  And  remember  that  thou  wast  a  servant 
in  the  land  of  Egyj^t,  and  that  the  Lord  thy  God  brought 
thee  out  thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched- 
out  arm  :  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to 
keep  the  Sabbath  day."^ 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  this  scripture  is  uni- 
formly quoted  by  those  who  Aviite  against  the 
Sabbath,  as  the  original  fourth  commandment; 
while  the  original  precept  itself  is  carefully  left 
out.  Yet  there  is  the  strongest  evidence  that 
this  is  not  the  original  precept;  for  Moses  re- 
hearses these  words  at  the  end  of  the  forty  years' 
sojourn,  whereas  the  original  commandment  was 
given  in  the  third  month  after  the  departure  from 
Egypt.  ^  The  commandment  itself,  as  here  given, 
contains  direct  proof  on  the  point.  Thus  it  reads  : 
"  Keep  the  Sabbath  day,  to  sanctify  it,  as  the 
Lord  thy  God  hath  commanded  thee;"  thus 
citing  elsewhere  for  the  original  statute.  More- 
over the  precept  as  here  given  is  evidently  in- 
complete. It  contains  no  clue  to  the  origin  of 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  nor  does  it  show  the 
acts  by  which  the  Sabbath  came  into  existence. 
This  is  why  those  Avho  represent  the  Sabbath  as 
made  in  the  wilderness  and  not  at  creation  quote 
this  as  the  fourth  commandment,  and  omit  the 

'  Deiil.  r>:  12  15.  '^Compare  Ex.  10;  '20;  Dont.  1. 


IN    THE    DAY    OF    TEiMPTATION.  77 

original  precept,  which  God  hiraself  proclaimed, 
where  all  these  facts  are  distinctly  stated.  ^ 

But  while  Moses  in  this  rehearsal  omits  a  large 
pai-t  of  the  fourth  commandment,  he  refers  to  the 
original  precept  for  the  whole  matter,  and  then 
appends  to  this  rehearsal  a  powerful  plea  of  obli- 
gation on  the  part  of  the  Hebrews  to  keep  the 
Sabbath.  It  should  be  remembered  that  many 
of  the  people  had  steadily  persisted  in  the  viola- 
tion of  the  Sabbath,  and  that  this  is  the  last  time 
that  Moses  speaks  in  its  behalf     Thus  he  says : — 

' '  And  remember  that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out 
thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched-out 
arm :  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to 
keep  the  Sabbath  day." 

These  words  are  often  cited  as  proof  that  the 
Sabbath  originated  at  the  departure  of  Israel  from 
Egypt,  and  that  it  was  ordained  at  that  time  as 
a  memorial  of  their  deliverance  from  thence. 
But  it  will  be  observed,  1.  That  this  text  says 
not  one  word  respecting  the  origin  of  the  Sab- 
bath or  rest-day  of  the  Lord.  2.  That  the  facts 
on  this  point  are  all  given  in  the  original  fourth 
commandment,  and  are  there  referred  to  cre- 
ation. 3.  That  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
God  rested  upon  the  seventh  day  at  the  time  of 
this  flight  from  Egypt ;  nor  did  he  then  bless  and 
hallow  the  day.  4.  That  the  Sabbath  has  noth- 
ing in  it  of  a  kind  to  commemorate  the  deliver- 
ance from  Egypt,  as  that  was  a  flight  and  this  is 
a  rest ;  and  that  flight  was  upon  the  fifteenth  of 
the  first  month,  and  this  rest,  upon  the  seventh 
day  of  each  week.     Thus  one  would  occur  annu- 

1  Ex.  20  :  8-11. 


78  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

ally ;  the  other,  weekly.  5.  But  God  did  ordain 
a  fitting  memorial  of  that  deliverance  to  be  ob- 
served by  the  Hebrews  :  the  passover,  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month,  in  memory  of 
God's  passing  over  them  when  he  smote  the 
Egyptians;  and  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
in  memory  of  their  eating  this  bread  when  they 
fled  out  of  Egypt.  ^ 

But  what  then  do  these  words  imply  ?  Perhaps 
their  meaning  may  be  more  readily  perceived  by 
comparing  them  with  an  exact  parallel  found  in 
the  same  book  and  from  the  pen  of  the  same 
writer  : — 

"Thou  slialt  not  i^ervert  the  judgment  of  the  stranger, 
nor  of  the  fatherless;  nor  take  a  widow's  raiment  to 
l^ledge  ;  but  thou  shalt  remember  that  thou  wast  a  bond- 
man in  Egypt,  and  the  Lord  thy  God  redeemed  thee 
thence;  therefore  I  command  thee  to  do  this  thing." " 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  this  precept 
was  not  given  to  commemorate  the  deliverance 
of  Israel  from  Egyptian  bondage ;  nor  could  that 
deliverance  give  existence  to  the  moral  obligation 
expressed  in  it.  If  the  language  in  the  one  case 
proves  that  men  were  not  under  obligation  to 
keep  the  Sabbath  before  the  deliverance  of  Israel 
from  Egypt,  it  proves  with  equal  conclusiveness 
in  the  other  that  before  that  deliverance  they 
were  not  under  obligation  to  treat  with  justice 
and  mercy  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the 
widow.  And  if  the  Sabbath  is  shoAvn  in  the  one 
case  to  be  Jewish,  in  the  other,  the  statute  of  the 
great  Law-giver  in  behalf  of  the  needy  and  the 
helpless  must  share  the  same  fate.  It  is  manifest 
that  this  language  is  in  each  case  an  appeal  to 

>  Ex.  12  ;  13.  '  Deut.  24  :  17,  18. 


IN    THE    DAY    OF    TEMPTATION.  79 

their  sense  of  gratitude.  You  were  slaves  in 
Egypt,  and  God  rescued  you ;  therefore  remember 
others  who  are  in  distress,  and  oppress  them  not. 
You  were  bondmen  in  Egypt,  and  God  redeemed 
you ;  therefore  sanctify  unto  the  Lord  the  day 
which  he  has  reserved  unto  himself;  a  most 
powerful  appeal  to  those  who  had  hitherto  per- 
sisted in  polluting  it.  Deliverance  from  abject 
servitude  was  necessary,  indeed,  in  each  case,  in 
order  that  the  things  enjoined  might  be  fully  ob- 
served ;  but  that  deliverance  did  not  give  exist- 
ence to  either  of  these  duties.  It  was  indeed  one 
of  the  acts  by  which  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
was  given  to  that  nation,  but  it  was  not  one  of 
the  acts  by  which  God  made  the  Sabbath,  nor 
did  it  render  the  restr-day  of  the  Lord  a  Jewish 
institution. 

That  the  words  engraven  upon  stone  vrere  sim- 
ply the  ten  commandments  is  evident. 

1.  It  is  said  of  the  first  tables : — 

"  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  you  out  of  the  midst  of  the 
fire :  ye  heard  the  voice  of  the  words,  but  saw  no  simili- 
tude ;  only  ye  heard  a  voice.  And  he  declared  unto  you 
his  covenant,  which  he  commanded  you  to  perform,  even 
ten  commandments ;  and  he  wrote  them  upon  two  tables 
of  stone."  ^ 

2.  Thus  the  first  tables  of  stone  contained  the 
ten  commandments  alone.  That  the  second  tables 
were  an  exact  copy  of  what  was  written  upon  the 
first,  is  plainly  stated  : — 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Hew  thee  tAvo  tables 
of  stone  like  unto  the  first :  and  I  will  write  upon  these 
tables  the  words  that  were  in  the  first  tables,  which 
thou  breakest."  ''And  I  will  write  on  the  tables  the 
words  that  were  in  the  first  tables  which  thou  breakest, 
and  thou  shalt  put  them  in  the  ark."  ^ 

iDeut.  4:12,  18.  "  2  Ex.  84  ;  1 ;  Deut.  10  :  2. 


80  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

3.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  following  decisive 
testimony  : — 

''  And  he  wrote  upon  the  tables  the  words  of  the  cove- 
nant, the  ten  commandments,"  margin,  Heb,,  "words." 
' '  And  he  wrote  on  the  tables,  according  to  the  first  writ- 
ing, the  ten  commandments  [margin,  words],  which  the 
Lord  spake  unto  you  in  the  mount,  out  of  the  midst  of 
the  fire  in  the  day  of  the  assembly :  and  the  Lord  gave 
them  unto  me."^ 

These  texts  will  explain  the  following  language  : 
"And  the  Lord  delivered  unto  me  two  tables  of 
stone  written  with  the  finger  of  God ;  and  on 
them  was  written  according  to  all  the  words 
which  the  Lord  spake  with  you  in  the  mount  out 
of  the  midst  of  the  fire  in  the  day  of  the  assem- 
bly." ^  Thus  God  is  said  to  have  written  upon 
the  tables  according  to  all  the  words  which  he 
spoke  in  the  day  of  the  assembly;  and  these 
words  which  he  thus  wrote,  are  said  to  have  been 
TEN  WORDS.  But  the  preface  to  the  decalogue 
was  not  one  of  these  ten  words,  and  hence  was 
not  written  by  the  finger  of  God  upon  stone. 
That  this  distinction  must  be  attended  to,  will  be 
seen  by  examining  the  following  text  and  its 
connection : — 

' '  These  words  the  Lord  spake  unto  all  your  assembly 
in  the  mount,  o\it  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  of  the  cloud, 
and  of  the  thick  darkness,  with  a  great  voice :  and  he 
added  no  more.  And  he  wrote  them  in  two  tables  of 
stone,  and  delivered  them  unto  me."^ 

These  words  here  brought  to  view  as  written 
by  the  finger  of  God  after  having  been  uttered 
by  him  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  people,  must  be 
understood  as  one  of  two  things.  1.  They  are 
simply  the  ten  words  of  the  law  of  God ;  or,  2. 

1  Ex.  34  :  28  :  Deut.  10:4.    2  Deut.  9  :  10.    ^  Deut.  5  :  22. 


IN    THE    DAY    OF    TEMPTATION.  81 

They  are  all  the  words  used  by  Moses  in  this  re- 
hearsal of  the  decalogue.  But  they  cannot  refer 
to  the  words  used  in  this  rehearsal ;  for,  1.  Moses 
omits  an  important  part  of  the  fourth  precept  as 
given  by  God  in  its  proclamation  from  the  mount. 
2.  In  this  rehearsal  of  that  precept  he  cites  back 
to  the  original  for  that  which  is  omitted.^  3.  He 
appends  to  this  precept  an  appeal  in  its  behalf 
to  their  gratitude  which  was  not  made  by  God 
in  giving  it.  4.  This  language  only  purports  to 
be  a  rehearsal  and  not  the  original  itself;  and 
this  is  further  evinced  by  many  verbal  deviations 
from  the  original  decalogue.^  These  facts  are  de- 
cisive as  to  what  was  placed  upon  the  tables  of 
stone.  It  was  not  an  incomplete  copy,  citing  else- 
where for  the  oriofinal,  but  the  original  code  it- 
self.  And  hence  when  Moses  speaks  of  these 
WORDS  as  engraven  upon  the  tables,  he  refers  not 
to  the  words  used  by  himself  in  this  rehearsal, 
but  to  the  TEN  WORDS  of  the  law  of  God,  and  ex- 
cludes all  else. 

Thus  have  we  traced  the  Sabbath  through  the 
books  of  Moses.  We  have  found  its  origin  in 
paradise  when  man  was  in  his  uprightness ;  we 
have  seen  the  Hebrews  set  apart  from  all  man- 
kind as  the  depositaries  of  divine  truth  ;  we  have 
seen  the  Sabbath  and  the  whole  moral  law  com- 
mitted as  a  sacred  trust  to  them ;  we  have  seen 
the  Sabbath  proclaimed  by  God  as  one  of  the 
ten  commandments ;  we  have  seen  it  written  by 
the  finger  of  God  upon  stone  in  the  bosom  of  the 
moral  law ;  we  have  seen  that  law  possessing  no 
Jewish,  but  simply  moral  and  divine,  features, 
placed  beneath  the  mercy-seat  in  the  ark  of  God's 

1  Deut.  5  :  12-15,  compared  with  Ex.  20  :  8-11. 
2Deut.  5,  compared  with  Ex.  20. 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

testament;  we  have  seen  that  various  precepts 
pertaining  to  the  Sabbath  were  given  to  the  He- 
brews and  designed  only  for  them ;  we  have  seen 
that  the  Hebrews  did  greatly  pollute  the  Sab- 
bath during  their  sojourn  in  the  wilderness ;  and 
we  have  heard  the  final  appeal  made  in  its  be- 
half by  Moses  to  that  rebellious  people. 

We  rest  the  foundation  of  the  Sabbatic  institu- 
tion upon  its  sanctification  before  the  fall  of  man ; 
the  fourth  commandment  is  its  great  citadel  of 
defense ;  its  place  in  the  midst  of  the  moral  law 
beneath  the  mercy-seat  shows  its  relation  to  the 
atonement  and  its  immutable  obligation. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE   FEASTS,  NEW   MOONS   AND   SABBATHS   OF 
THE   HEBREWS. 

Enumeration  of  the  Hebrew  festivals — The  passover — The 
pentecost — The  feast  of  tabernacles — The  new  moons — The 
first  and  second  annual  sabbaths — The  third — The  fourth 
—The  fifth— The  sixth  and  seventh— The  sabbath  of  the 
land — The  jubilee — None  of  these  festivals  in  force  until 
the  Hebrews  entered  their  own  land — The  contrast  between 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  and  the  sabbaths  of  the  Hebrews 
— Testimony  of  Isaiah— Of  Hosea — Of  Jeremiah — Final 
cessation  of  these  festivals. 

We  have  followed  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
through  the  books  of  Moses.  A  brief  survey  of 
the  Jewish  festivals  is  necessary  to  the  complete 
view  of  the  subject  before  us.  Of  these  there 
were  three  feasts:  tlie  passover,  the  Pentecost, 
and  the  feast  of  tabernacles;  each  new  moon, 
that  is,  the  first  day  of  each  month  throughout 
the  year ;  then  there  were  seven  annual  sabbaths. 


NEW    MOONS    AND    SABBATHS.  83 

namely,  1.  The  first  day  of  unleavened  bread. 
2.  The  seventh  day  of  that  feast.  3.  The  day  of 
Pentecost.  4.  The  first  day  of  the  seventh  month. 
5.  The  tenth  day  of  that  month.  6.  The  fifteenth 
day  of  that  month.  7.'  The  twenty-second  day 
of  the  same.  In  addition  to  all  these,  every  sev- 
enth year  was  to  be  the  sabbath  of  the  land,  and 
every  fiftieth  year  the  year  of  jubilee. 

The  passover  takes  its  name  from  the  fact  that 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  passed  over  the  houses  of 
the  Hebrews  on  that  eventful  night  when  the 
firstborn  in  every  Egyptian  family  was  slain. 
This  feast  was  ordained  in  commemoration  of  the 
deliverance  of  that  people  from  Egyptian  bond- 
age. It  began  with  the  slaying  of  the  paschal 
lamb  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month, 
and  extended  through  a  period  of  seven  days,  in 
which  nothing  but  unleavened  bread  was  to  be 
eaten.  Its  great  antitype  was  reached  when 
Christ  our  passover  was  sacrificed  for  us.  ^ 

The  Pentecost  was  the  second  of  the  Jewish 
feasts,  and  occupied  but  a  single  day.  It  was  cel- 
ebrated on  the  fiftieth  day  after  the  first-fruits  of 
barley  harvest  had  been  waved  before  the  Lord. 
At  the  time  of  this  feast  the  first-fruits  of  wheat 
harvest  were  offered  unto  God.  The  antitype  of 
this  festival  was  reached  on  the  fiftieth  day  after 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  when  the  great  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Ghost  took  place.  ^ 

The  feast  of  tabernacles  was  the  last  of  the 
Jewish  feasts.  It  was  celebrated  in  the  seventh 
month  when  they  had  gathered  in  the  fruit  of 
the  land,  and  extended  from  the  fifteenth  to  the 
twenty-first  day  of  that  month.     It  was  ordained 

lEx.  12  ;  1  Cor.  5  :  7,  8.  2  Lev.  23  :  10-21 ;    Num. 

28:26-31;    Deut.   16:9-12;    Acts  2  :  1-18. 


84  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

as  a  festival  of  rejoicing  before  the  Lord ;  and 
during  this  period  the  children  of  Israel  dwelt  in 
booths  in  commemoration  of  their  dwelling  thus 
during  their  sojourn  in  the  wilderness.  It  proba- 
bly typifies  the  great  rejoicing  after  the  final 
gathering  of  all  the  people  of  God  into  his  king- 
dom.^ 

In  connection  with  these  feasts  it  was  ordained 
that  each  new  moon,  that  is,  the  first  day  of  ev- 
ery month,  should  be  observed  with  certain  spec- 
ified offerings,  and  with  tokens  of  rejoicing."  The 
annual  sabbaths  of  the  Hebrews  have  been  al- 
ready enumerated.  The  first  two  of  these  sab- 
baths were  the  first  and  seventh  days  of  the  feast 
of  unleavened  bread,  that  is,  the  fifteenth  and 
twenty-first  days  of  the  first  month.  They  were 
thus  ordained  by  God  : — 

"Seven  days  shall  ye  eat  unleavened  bread  ;  even  the 
first  day  ye  shall  put  away  leaven  out  of  your  houses. 
....  And  in  the  first  day  there  shall  be  an  holy  con- 
vocation, and  in  the  seventh  day  there  shall  be  an  holy 
convocation  to  you  ;  no  manner  of  work  shall  be  done  in 
them,  save  that  which  every  man  must  eat,  that  only 
may  be  done  of  you."  ^ 

The  third  in  order  of  the  annual  sabbaths  was 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  This  festival  was  ordained 
as  a  rest-day  in  the  following  language  : — 

"And  ye  shall  proclaim  on  the  selfsame  day,  that  it 
may  be  an  holy  convocation  unto  you :  ye  shall  do  no 
servile  work  therein  ;  it  shall  be  a  statute  forever  in  all 
your  dwellings  throughout  your  generations."'' 

The  first  day  of  the  seventh  month  was  the 

1  Lev.  23  :  34-43 ;  Deut.  16  :  13-15 ;  Neh.  8 ;  Rev.  7  :  9-14. 

2  Num.  10:10;  28:11-15;  1  Sam.  20 :  5,  24,  27;  Ps.  81:3. 

3  Ex.  12  :  15,  16  ;  Lev.  23  :  7,  8 ;  Num.  28  :  17,  18,  25. 

4  Lev.  23  :  21 ;  Num.  23  :  26. 


NEW   MOONS   AND    SABBATHS.  85 

fourth  annual  sabbath  of  the  Hebrews.  It  was 
thus  ordained : — 

''  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  In  the  sev- 
enth month,  in  the  first  day  of  the  month,  shall  ye  have 
a  sabbath,  a  memorial  of  blowing  of  trumpets,  an  holy 
convocation.  Ye  shall  do  no  servile  work  therein ;  but 
ye  shall  offer  an  offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord."  ^ 

The  great  day  of  atonement  was  the  fifth  of 
these  sabbaths.  Thus  spake  the  Lord  unto  Mo- 
ses : — 

"Also  on  the  tenth  day  of  this  seventh  month  there 
shall  be  a  day  of  atonement ;  it  shall  be  an  holy  convoca- 
tion unto  you Ye  shall  do  no  manner  of  work  ;  it 

shall  be  a  statute  forever  throughout  your  generations  in 
all  your  dwellings.  It  shall  be  unto  you  a  sabbath  of  rest, 
and  ye  shall  afflict  your  souls  :  in  the  ninth  day  of  the 
month  at  even,  from  even  unto  even,  shall  ye  celebrate 
your  sabbath."^ 

The  sixth  and  seventh  of  these  annual  sab- 
baths were  the  fifteenth  and  twenty-second  days 
of  the  seventh  month,  that  is,  the  first  day 
of  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  and  the  day  after  its 
conclusion.     Thus  were  they  enjoined  by  God : — 

"  Also  in  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  seventh  month,  when 
ye  have  gathered  in  the  fruit  of  the  land,  ye  shall  keep  a 
feast  unto  the  Lord  seven  days  ;  on  the  first  day  shall  be 
a  sabbath,  and  on  the  eighth  day  shall  be  a  sabbath."^ 

Besides  all  these,  every  seventh  year  was  a 
sabbath  of  rest  unto  the  land.  The  people  might 
labor  as  usual  in  other  business,  but  they  were 
forbidden  to  till  the  land,  that  the  land  itself 
might  rest.^  After  seven  of  these  sabbaths,  the 
following  or  fiftieth  year  was  to  be  the  year  of 
jubilee,  in  which  every  man  was  to  be  restored 

1  Lev.  23  :  24,  25 ;  Num.  29  : 1-6. 

2  Lev.  23  :  27-32 ;  16  :  29-31 ;  Num.  29  :  7. 

^  Lev.  23  :  39.  4  Ex.  23  :  10,  11  ;  Lev.  25  :  2-7. 


86  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

unto  his  inlieritance.^  There  is  no  evidence  that 
the  jubilee  was  ever  observed,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  sabbatical  year  was  almost  entirely  dis- 
regarded.^ 

Such  were  the  feasts,  new  moons,  and  sabbaths, 
of  the  Hebrews.  A  few  words  will  suffice  to 
point  out  the  broad  distinction  between  them  and 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  The  first  of  the  three 
feasts  was  ordained  in  memory  of  their  deliver- 
ance from  Egyptian  bondage,  and  was  to  be  ob- 
served when  they  should  enter  their  own  land.^ 
The  second  feast,  as  we  have  seen,  could  not  be 
observed  until  after  the  settlement  of  the  Hebrews 
in  Canaan ;  for  it  was  to  be  celebrated  when  the 
first  fruits  of  wheat  harvest  should  be  offered  be- 
fore the  Lord.  The  third  feast  was  ordained  in 
memory  of  their  sojourn  in  the  wilderness,  and 
was  to  be  celebrated  by  them  each  year  after  the 
ingathering  of  the  entire  harvest.  Of  course  this 
feast,  like  the  others,  could  not  be  observed  until 
the  settlement  of  the  people  in  their  own  land. 
The  new  moons,  as  has  been  already  seen,  were 
not  ordained  until  after  these  feasts  had  been  in- 
stituted. The  annual  sabbaths  were  part  and 
parcel  of  these  feasts,  and  could  have  no  existence 
until  after  the  feasts  to  which  they  belonged  had 
been  instituted.  Thus  the  first  and  second  of 
these  sabbaths  were  the  first  and  seventh  days  of 
the  paschal  feast.  The  third  annual  sabbath  was 
identical  with  the  feast  of  Pentecost.  The  fourth 
of  these  sabbaths  was  the  same  as  the  new  moon 
in  the  seventh  month.  The  fifth  one  was  the 
gi'eat  day  of  atonement.     The  sixth  and  the  sev- 

1  Lev.  25  :  8-54.  2  Lev.  26  :  34,  35,  43  ;  2  Chron.  SO :  21. 

3  Ex.  12:  25. 


NEW   MOONS    AND    SABBATHS.  87 

enth  of  these  annual  sabbaths  were  the  fifteenth 
and  twenty-second  days  of  the  seventh  month, 
that  is,  the  fii*st  day  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles, 
and  the  next  day  after  the  close  of  that  fea.st. 
As  these  feasts  were  not  to  be  observed  until  the 
Hebrews  should  possess  their  own  land,  the  an- 
nual sabbaths  could  have  no  existence  until  that 
time.  And  so  of  the  sabbaths  of  the  land.  These 
could  have  no  existence  until  after  the  Hebrews 
should  possess  and  cultivate  their  own  land; 
after  six  years  of  cultivation,  the  land  should 
rest  the  seventh  year,  and  remain  untilled.  After 
seven  of  these  sabbaths  of  the  land  came  the  year 
of  jubilee. 

The  contrast  between  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
and  these  sabbaths  of  the  Hebrews  ^  is  strongly 
marked.  1.  The  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was  insti- 
tuted at  the  close  of  the  first  week  of  time ;  while 
these  were  ordained  in  connection  with  the  Jew- 
ish feasts.  2.  The  one  was  blessed  and  hallowed 
by  God,  because  that  he  had  rested  upon  it  from 
the  work  of  creation;  the  others  have  no  such 
claim  to  our  regard.  8.  When  the  children  of 
Israel  came  into  the  wilderness,  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord  was  an  existing  institution,  obligatory 
upon  them ;  but  the  annual  sabbaths  then  came 
into  existence.  It  is  easy  to  point  to  the  very 
act  of  God,  while  leading  that  people,  that  gave 

lOn  this  point  Mr.  Miller  uses  the  following  language:  "Only 
one  kind  of  Sabbath  was  given  to  Adam,  and  one  only  remains 
for  us.  See  Hosea2  :  11.  '1  will  also  cause  all  her  mirth  to  cease, 
her  feast  days,  her  new  moons,  and  her  sabbaths,  and  all  her  sol- 
emn feasts.'  AH  the  Jewish  sabbaths  did  cease  when  Christ  nailed 
them  to  his  cross.  Col.  2:14-17.  These  were  properly  called 
Jewish  sabbaths.  Hosea  says,  'her  sabbaths.'  But  the  Sabbath 
of  which  we  are  speaking, 'God  calls  'my  Sabbath.'  Here  is  a 
clear  distinction  between  the  creation  Sabbath  and  the  ceremonial. 
The  one  is  perpetual ;  the  others  were  merely  shadows  of  good 
things  to  con\Q.''— Life  and  Views,  pp.  161,  162. 


88  HISTORY   OF   THE    SABBATH. 

existence  to  these  sabbaths ;  while  every  refer- 
ence to  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  shows  that  it 
had  been  ordained  before  God  chose  that  peo- 
ple. 4.  The  children  of  Israel  were  excluded 
from  the  promised  land  for  violating  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord  in  the  wilderness;  but  the 
annual  sabbaths  were  not  to  be  observed  until 
they  should  enter  that  land.  This  contrast  would 
be  strange  indeed  were  it  true  that  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord  was  not  instituted  until  the  children 
of  Israel  came  into  the  wilderness  of  Sin ;  for  it 
is  certain  that  two  of  the  annual  sabbaths  were 
instituted  before  they  left  the  land  of  Egypt. ^  5. 
The  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was  made  for  man ;  but 
the  annual  sabbaths  were  designed  only  for  resi- 
dents in  the  land  of  Palestine.  6.  The  one  was 
weekly,  a  memorial  of  the  Creator's  rest;  the 
others  were  annual,  connected  with  the  memori- 
als of  the  deliverance  of  the  Hebrews  from  Egypt. 

7.  The  one  is  termed  ''  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord/' 
"my  Sabbaths,"  "my  holy  day,"  and  the  like; 
while  the  others  are  designated  as  "your  sab- 
baths," "her  sabbaths,"  and  similar  expressions.^ 

8.  The  one  was  proclaimed  by  God  as  one  of  the 
ten  commandments,  and  was  written  with  his  fin- 
ger in  the  midst  of  the  moral  law  upon  the  tables 
of  stone,  and  was  deposited  in  the  ark  beneath 
the  mercy-seat ;  the  others  did  not  pertain  to  the 
moral  law,  but  were  embodied  in  that  hand-wiit- 
ing  of  ordinances  that  was  a  shadow  of  good 
things  to  come.  9.  The  distinction  between  these 
festivals  and  the  Sabbaths  of  the  Lord  was  care- 
fully marked  by  God  when  he  ordained  the  festi- 
vals and  their  associated  sabbaths.     Thus  he  said  : 

'  Ex.  12  :  Ifi.  2  Y.x.  20  :  10  ;  31  :  13  ;  Isa.  58  :  13  ;  compared 

witli   lev.  23:24,  32,  3'.> ;  Lam.  1:7;  Hoseu  2;  11. 


NEW   MOONS   AND    SABBATHS.  89 

"  These  are  the  feasts  of  the  Lord,  which  ye  shall 

proclaim  to  be  holy  convocations, beside 

the  Sabbaths  of  the  Lord."^ 

The  annual  sabbaths  are  presented  by  Isaiah 
in  a  very  different  light  from  that  in  which  he 
presents  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  Of  the  one 
he  says : — 

' '  Bring  no  more  vain  oblations  ;  incense  is  an  abomin- 
ation unto  me  ;  the  new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calling 
of  assemblies,  I  cannot  away  with  ;  it  is  iniquity,  even 
the  solemn  meeting.  Your  new  moons  and  your  appoint- 
ed feasts  my  soul  hateth  ;  they  are  a  trouble  unto  me  ;  I 
am  weary  to  bear  them."  ' 

In  striking  contrast  with  this,  the  same  prophet 
speaks  of  the  Lord's  Sabbath  : — 

"  Thvis  saifch  the  Lord,  Keep  ye  judgment,  and  do 
justice  :  for  my  salvation  is  near  to  come,  and  my 
righteousness  to  be  revealed.  Blessed  is  the  man  that 
doeth  this,  and  the  son  of  man  that  layeth  hold  on  it  ; 
that  keepeth  the  Sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and  keepeth 
his  hand  from  doing  any  evil.  Neither  let  the  son  of 
the  stranger,  that  hath  joined  himself  to  the  Lord,  speak, 
saying,  The  Lord  hath  utterly  separated  me  from  his  peo- 
ple ;  neither  let  the  eunuch  say,  Behold,  I  am  a  dry  tree. 
For  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  the  eunuchs  that  keep  my 
Sabbaths,  and  choose  the  things  that  please  me,  and  take 
hold  of  my  covenant ;  even  unto  them  will  I  give  in 
mine  house  and  within  my  walls  a  place  and  a  name  bet- 
ter than  of  sons  and  of  daughters  ;  I  will  give  them  an 
everlasting  name,  that  shall  not  be  cut  off.  Also  the- 
sons  of  the  stranger,  that  join  themselves  to  the  Lord, 
to  serve  liim,  and  to  love  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  be  his 
servants,  every  one  that  keepeth  the  Sabbath  from  pollut- 
ing it,  and  taketh  hold  of  my  covenant  ;  even  them  will 
I  bring  to  my  holy  mountain,  and  make  them  joyful  in 
my  house  of  prayer  ;  their  burnt-offerings  and  their  sac- 
rifices shall  be  accepted  upon  mine  altar  ;  for  mine  house 
shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  people."  ^ 

1  Lev.  23:37,  38.      2  iga.  l :  13,  14.      s  iga.  56  : 1-7;  5S  :  13,  14. 

Sabbath  Ristorv.  "T 


90  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

Hosea  carefully  designates  the  annual  sabbaths 
in  the  following  prediction  : — 

' '  I  •will  also  cause  all  her  mirth  to  cease,  her  feast-days, 
her  new  moons,  and  her  sabbaths,  and  all  her  solemn 
feasts. "  ^ 

This  prediction  was  uttered  about  B.  c.  785.  It 
was  fulfilled  in  part  about  two  hundred  years 
after  this,  when  Jerusalem  was  destroyed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar.  Of  this  event,  Jeremiah,  about 
B.  c.  588,  speaks  as  follows : — 

' '  Her  people  fell  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy,  and  none 
did  help  her  :  the  adversaries  saw  her,  and  did  mock  at 

HER  sabbaths The  Lord  was  as  an  enemy  ;  he 

hath  swallowed  up  Israel,  he  hath  swallowed  up  all  her 
palaces  ;  he  hath  destroyed  his  strongholds,  and  hath  in- 
creased in  the  daughter  of  Judah  mourning  and  lamenta- 
tion. And  he  hath  violently  taken  away  his  tabernacle,  as 
if  it  were  of  a  garden  ;  he  hath  destroyed  his  places  of  the 
assembly  ;  the  Lord  hath  caused  the  solemn  feasts  and 
sabbaths  to  be  forgotten  in  Zion,  and  hath  despised  in  the 
indignation  of  his  anger  the  king  and  the  priest.  The 
Lord  hath  cast  off  his  altar,  he  hath  abhorred  his  sanctu- 
ary, he  hath  given  up  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy  the 
walls  of  her  palaces  ;  they  have  made  a  noise  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  as  in  the  day  of  a  solemn  feast.  "" 

The  feasts  of  the  Lord  were  to  be  holden  in 
the  place  which  the  Lord  should  choose,  namely, 
Jerusalem;^  and  when  that  city,  the  place  of 
their  solemn  assemblies,  was  destroyed  and  the 
people  themselves  carried  into  captivity,  the  com- 
plete cessation  of  their  feasts,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, of  the  annual  sabbaths,  which  were  spec- 
ified days  in  those  feasts,  liiust  occur.  The  ad- 
versaries mocked  at  her  sabbaths,  by  making  a 
"  noise  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  as  in  the  day  of 

1  Hosea  2:11.  « Lam.  1:7;  2:5-7. 

8  Deut.  IG  :  16  ;  2  Chron.  7  :  12  ;  Ps.  122. 


NEW    MOONS    AND    SABBATHS.  91 

a  solemn  feast."  But  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  Sabbath  did  not  cease  with  the  dispersion 
of  the  Hebrews  from  theii*  own  land  ;  for  it  was 
not  a  local  institution,  like  the  annual  sabbaths. 
Its  violation  was  one  chief  cause  of  the  Babylonish 
captivity ;  ^  and  their  final  restoration  to  their 
own  land  was  made  conditional  upon  their  ob- 
serving it  in  their  dispersion.  -  The  feasts,  new 
moons,  and  annual  sabbaths,  were  restored  when 
the  Hebrews  returned  from  captivity,  and  with 
some  interruptions,  were  kept  up  until  the  final 
destruction  of  their  city  and  nation  by  the  Ro- 
mans. But  ere  the  providence  of  God  thus  struck 
out  of  existence  these  Jewish  festivals,  the  whole 
typical  system  was  abolished,  having  reached  the 
commencement  of  its  antitype,  when  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  expired  upon  the  cross.  The  hand- 
writing of  ordinances  being  thus  abolished,  no 
one  is  to  be  judged  respecting  its  meats,  or  drinks, 
or  holy  days,  or  new  moons,  or  sabbaths,  "  which 
are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come ;  but  the  body  is 
of  Christ."  But  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  did 
not  form  a  part  of  this  handwriting  of  ordinances ; 
for  it  was  instituted  before  sin  had  entered 
the  world,  and  consequently  before  there  was 
any  shadow  of  redemption ;  it  was  written  by 
the  finger  of  God,  not  in  the  midst  of  types  and 
shadows,  but  in  the  bosom  of  the  moral  law ;  and 
the  day  following  that  on  which  the  typical  sab- 
baths were  nailed  to  the  cross,  the  Sabbath  com- 
mandment of  the  moral  law  is  expressly  recognized. 
Moreover,  when  the  Jewish  festivals  were  utterly 
extinguished  with  the  final  destruction  of  Jeru- 

o 

1  Jer.  17  :  19-27  ;  Neh.  13  :  15-18. 

2  Isa.  5f..     See  the  eighth  chapter  of  this  work. 


92  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

salem,  even  then  was  tlie  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
brought  to  the  minds  of  his  people.  ^  Thus  have 
we  traced  the  annual  sabbaths  until  their  final 
cessation,  as  predicted  by  Hosea.  It  remains 
that  we  trace  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  until  we 
reach  the  endless  ages  of  the  new  earth,  when 
we  shall  find  the  whole  multitude  of  the  re- 
deemed assembling  before  God  for  worship  on 
each  successive  Sabbath. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE   SABBATH   FROM   DAVID   TO   NEHEMIAH. 

Silence  of  six  successive  books  of  the  Bible  relative  to  the 
Sabbath — This  silence  compared  to  that  of  the  book  of 
Genesis — The  siege  of  Jericho — The  standing  still  of  the 
sun — David's  act  of  eating  the  shew-bread — The  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord,  how  connected  with  and  how  distinguished 
from  the  annual  sabbaths — Earliest  reference  to  the  Sab- 
bath after  the  days  of  Moses — Incidental  allusions  to  the 
Sabbath — Testimony  of  Amos — Of  Isaiah — The  Sabbath  a 
blessing  to  mankind — The  condition  of  being  gathered  to 
the  holy  land — Not  a  local  institution — Commentary  on 
the  fourth  commandment — Testimony  of  Jeremiah — Jeru- 
salem to  be  saved  if  she  would  keep  the  Sabbath — This 
gracious  offer  despised — The  Sabbath  distinguished  from 
the  other  days  of  the  week — The  Sabbath  after  the  Bab- 
ylonish captivity — Time  for  the  commencing  of  the  Sab- 
bath— The  violation  of  the  Sabbath  caused  the  destruction 
of  J&rusalem. 

When  we  leave  the  books  of  Moses  there  is  a 
long-continued  break  in  the  history  of  the  Sab- 
bath. No  mention  of  it  is  found  in  the  book  of 
Joshua,  nor  in  that  of  Judges,  nor  in  the  book  of 

1  Sec  diaplov  x.    ■> 


FROM    DAVID    TO    NEHEMIAH.  93 

Ruth,  nor  in  that  of  first  Samuel,  nor  in  the  book 
of  second  Samuel,  nor  in  that  of  first  Kings.  It 
is  not  until  we  reach  the  book  of  second  Kings  ^ 
that  the  Sabbath  is  even  mentioned.  In  the  book 
of  first  Chronicles,  however,  which  as  a  narrative 
is  parallel  to  the  two  books  of  Samuel,  the  Sab- 
bath is  mentioned  ^  with  reference  to  the  events 
of  David's  life.  Yet  this  leaves  a  period  of  five 
hundred  years,  which  the  Bible  passes  in  silence 
respecting  the  Sabbath. 

During  this  period  we  have  a  circumstantial 
history  of  the  Hebrew  people  from  their  entrance 
into  the  promised  land  forward  to  the  establish- 
ment of  David  as  their  king,  embracing  many 
particulars  in  the  life  of  Joshua,  of  the  elders  and 
judges  of  Israel,  of  Gideon,  of  Barak,  of  Jephthah, 
of  Samson,  of  Eli,  of  Naomi  and  Ruth,  of  Hannah 
and  Samuel,  of  Saul,  of  Jonathan  and  of  David. 
Yet  in  all  this  minute  record  we  have  no  direct 
mention  of  the  Sabbath. 

It  is  a  favorite  argument  with  anti- Sabbatari- 
ans in  proof  of  the  total  neglect  of  the  Sabbath  in 
the  patriarchal  age,  that  the  book  of  Genesis, 
which  does  give  a  distinct  view  of  the  origin  of 
the  Sabbath  in  Paradise,  at  the  close  of  the  first 
week  of  time,  does  not  in  recording  the  lives  of  the 
patriarchs,  say  anything  relative  to  its  observance. 
Yet  in  that  one  book  are  crowded  the  events  of 
two  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy  years. 
What  then  should  they  say  of  the  fact  that  six 
successive  books  of  the  Bible,  relating  with  com- 


1  2  Kings  4  :  23. 

2 1  Chron.  9  :  32.  It  is  true  that  this  text  relates  to  the  order  of 
things  after  the  return  from  Babylon ;  yet  we  learn  from  verse 
22,  that  this  order  was  originally  ordained  by  David  and  Samuel. 
iSee  verses  1-32. 


94  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

parative  minuteness  the  events  of  five  hundred 
years,  and  involving  many  circumstances  that 
would  call  out  a  mention  of  the  Sabbath,  do  not 
mention  it  at  all  ?  Does  the  silence  of  one  book, 
which  nevertheless  does  give  the  institution  of 
the  Sabbath  at  its  very  commencement,  and  which 
brings  into  its  record  almost  twenty-four  hundred 
years,  prove  that  there  were  no  Sabbath-keepers 
prior  to  Moses  ?  What  then  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  six  successive  books  of  the  Bible,  con- 
fining themselves  to  the  events  of  five  hundred 
years,  an  average  of  less  than  one  hundred  years 
apiece,  the  whole  period  covered  by  them  being 
about  one-fifth  that  embraced  in  the  book  of 
Genesis,  do  nevertheless  preserve  total  silence  re- 
specting the  Sabbath  ? 

No  one  will  adduce  this  silence  as  evidence  of 
total  neglect  of  the  Sabbath  during  this  period ; 
yet  why  should  they  not  ?  Is  it  because  that 
when  the  narrative  after  this  long  silence  brings 
in  the  Sabbath  again,  it  does  this  incidentally  and 
not  as  a  new  institution  ?  Precisely  such  is  the 
case  with  the  second  mention  of  the  Sabbath  in 
the  Mosaic  record,  that  is,  with  its  mention  after 
the  silence  in  Genesis.  ^  Is  it  because  the  fourth 
commandment  had  been  given  to  the  Hebrews 
whereas  no  such  precept  had  previously  been 
given  to  mankind  ?  This  answer  cannot  be  ad- 
mitted, for  we  have  seen  that  the  substance  of  the 
fourth  commandment  was  given  to  the  head  of 
the  human  family ;  and  it  is  certain  that  when 
the  Hebrews  came  out  of  Egypt  they  were  under 
obligation  to  keep  the  Sabbath  in  consequence  of 
existing  law.  ^     The  argument  therefore  is  cer- 

»  Compare  these  two  cases  ;  Ex.  IG  :  23  :  1  Chron.  0  ;  32. 
>  See  chapters  ii.  and  iii. 


FROxM    DAVID    TO    NEHEMIAH.  95 

tainly  more  conclusive  that  there  were  no  Sab- 
bath-keepers from  Moses  to  David,  than  that 
there  were  none  from  Adam  to  Moses;  yet  no 
one  will  attempt  to  maintain  the  first  position, 
however  many  there  will  be  to  affirm  the  latter. 
Several  facts  are  narrated  in  the  history  of  this 
period  of  five  centuries  that  have  a  claim  to  our 
notice.  The  first  of  these  is  found  in  the  record 
of  the  siege  of  Jericho.^  By  the  command  of 
God  the  city  was  encompassed  by  the  Hebrews 
each  day  for  seven  days ;  on  the  last  day  of  the 
seven  they  encompassed  it  seven  times,  when  by 
divine  interposition  the  walls  were  thrown  down 
before  them  and  the  city  taken  by  assault. 
One  day  of  this  seven  must  have  been  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord.  Did  not  the  people  of  God 
therefore  violate  the  Sabbath  in  their  acting 
thus  ?  Let  the  following  facts  answer :  1.  That 
which  they  did  in  this  case  was  by  direct  com- 
mand of  God.  2.  That  which  is  forbidden  in  the 
fourth  commandment  is  OUR  o^visr  work :  "  Six 
days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  ALL  thy  work  ;  but 
the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God."  He  who  reserved  the  seventh  day  unto 
himself,  had  the  right  to'require  its  appropriation 
to  his  service  as  he  saw  fit.  3.  The  act  of  encom- 
passing the  city  was  strictly  as  a  religious  pro- 
cession. The  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord 
was  borne  before  the  people ;  and  before  the  ark 
went  seven  priests  blowing  with  trumpets  of 
rams'  horns.  4.  Nor  could  the  city  have  been 
very  extensive,  else  the  going  round  it  seven  times 
on  the  last  day,  and  their  having  time  left  for  its 
complete  destruction,  would  have  been  impossi- 

2  Josh.  6. 


96  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ble.  5.  Nor  can  it  be  believed  that  the  Hebrews, 
by  God's  command  carrying  the  ark  before  them, 
which  contained  simply  the  ten  words  of  the 
Most  High,  were  violating  the  fourth  of  those 
words,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it 
holy."  It  is  certain  that  one  of  those  seven  days 
on  which  they  encompassed  Jericho  was  the  Sab- 
bath ;  but  there  is  no  necessity  for  supposing  this 
to  have  been  the  day  in  which  the  city  was  taken. 
Nor  is  this  a  reasonable  conjecture  when  all  the 
facts  in  the  case  are  considered.  On  this  incident 
Dr.  Clarke  remarks  as  follows : — 

''  It  does  not  appear  that  there  could  be  any  breach  in 
the  Sabbath  by  the  peoj^le  simjDly  going  round  the  city, 
the  ark  in  company,  and  the  priests  sounding  the  sacred 
trumpets.  This  was  a  mere  religious  procession,  per- 
formed at  the  command  of  God,  in  which  no  servile  work 
was  done."  ^ 

At  the  word  of  Joshua  it  pleased  God  to  arrest 
the  earth  in  its  revolution,  and  thus  to  cause  the 
sun  to  remain  stationary  for  a  season,  that  the 
Canaanites  might  be  overthrown  before  Israel.  ^ 
Did  not  this  great  miracle  derange  the  Sabbath  ? 
Not  at  all ;  for  the  lengthening  of  one  of  the  six 
days  by  God's  intervention  could  not  prevent 
the  actual  arrival  of  the  seventh  day,  though  it 
would  delay  it ;  nor  could  it  destroy  its  identity. 
The  case  involves  a  difficulty  for  those  who  hold 
the  theory  that  God  sanctified  the  seventh  part 
of  time,  and  not  the  seventh  day ;  for  in  this  case 
the  seventh  part  of  time  was  not  allotted  to  the 
Sabbath ;  but  there  is  no  difficulty  involved  for 
those  who  believe  that  God  set  apart  the  seventh 
day  to  be  kept  as  it  arrives,  in  memory  of  his 

J  See  Dr.  A.  Clarke's  commentary  on  Josh.  6  :  15. 
2  Josh.  10  ;  12-14. 


FROM    DAVID    TO    NEHEMIAH.  97 

own  rest.  One  of  the  six  days  was  allotted  a 
greater  length  than  ever  before  or  since ;  yet  this 
did  not  in  the  slightest  degree  conflict  with  the 
seventh  day,  which  nevertheless  did  come.  More- 
over all  this  was  while  inspired  men  were  upon 
the  stage  of  action;  and  it  was  by  the  direct 
providence  of  God ;  and  what  is  also  to  be  par- 
ticularly remembered,  it  was  at  a  time  when  no 
one  wdll  deny  that  the  fourth  commandment  was 
in  full  force. 

The  case  of  David's  eating  the  shew-bread  is 
worthy  of  notice,  as  it  probably  took  place  upon 
the  Sabbath,  and  because  it  is  cited  by  our  Lord 
in  a  memorable  conversation  with  the  Pharisees.^ 
The  law  of  the  shew-bread  enjoined  the  setting 
forth  of  twelve  loaves  in  the  sanctuary  upon  the 
pure  table  before  the  Lord  every  Sabbath.^ 
When  new  bread  was  thus  placed  before  the  Lord 
each  Sabbath,  the  old  was  taken  away  to  be 
eaten  by  the  priests.  ^  It  appears  that  the  shew- 
bread  which  was  given  to  David  had  that  day 
been  taken  from  before  the  Lord  to  put  hot 
bread  in  its  place,  and  consequently  that  day  was 
the  Sabbath.  Thus,  when  David  asked  bread,  the 
priest  said,  "There  is  no  common  bread  under 
mine  hand,  but  there  is  hallowed  bread."  And 
David  said,  "  The  bread  is  in  a  manner  common, 
especially  [as  the  margin  has  it]  when  this  day 
there  is  other  sanctified  in  the  vessel."  And  so 
the  sacred  writer  adds :  "  The  priest  gave  him 
hallowed  bread;  for  there  was  no  bread  there 
but  the  shew-bread,  that  was  taken  from  before 
the  Lord,  to  put  hot  bread  in  the  day  when  it 

1 1  Sam.  21  :  1-6  ;  Matt.  12 :  3,  4  ;  Mark  2  :  25,  26  ;  Luke  6  ;  3,  4. 
2  Lev.  24  :  5-9 ;  1  Chron.  9  :  32.      n  Sam.  21 :  5,  6  ;  Matt.  12  ;  4. 


98  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

was  taken  away."  The  circumstances  of  this 
case  all  favor  the  view  that  this  was  upon  the 
Sabbath.  1.  There  was  NO  common  bread  with 
the  priest.  This  is  not  strange  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  the  shew-bread  was  to  be  taken 
from  before  the  Lord  each  Sabbath  and  eaten  by 
the  priests.  2.  That  the  priest  did  not  offer  to 
]}reparc  other  bread  is  not  singular  if  it  be  un- 
derstood that  this  was  the  Sabbath.  3.  The 
surprise  of  the  priest  in  meeting  David  may  have 
been  in  part  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the 
Sabbath.  4.  This  also  may  account  for  the  de- 
tention of  Doeg  that  day  before  the  Lord.  5. 
When  our  Lord  was  called  upon  to  pronounce 
upon  the  conduct  of  his  disciples  who  had  plucked 
and  eaten  the  ears  of  corn  upon  the  Sabbath  to 
satisfy  their  hunger,  he  cited  this  case  of  David, 
and  that  of  the  priests  offering  sacrifices  in 
the  temple  upon  the  Sabbath  as  justifying  the 
disciples.  There  is  a  wonderful  propriety  and 
fitness  in  this  citation,  if  it  be  understood  that 
this  act  of  David's  took  place  upon  the  Sabbath. 
It  will  be  found  to  present  the  matter  in  a  very 
different  light  from  that  in  which  anti-Sabbata- 
rians present  it.^ 

A  distinction  may  be  here  pointed  out,  which 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of  The  presentation  of 
the  shew-bread  and  the  offering  of  burnt  sacrifices 
upon  the  Sabbath  as  ordained  in  the  ceremonial 
law,  formed  no  part  of  the  original  Sabbatic 
institution.  For  the  Sabbath  was  made  before 
the  fall  of  man ;  while  burnt- offerings  and  cere- 
monial rites  in  the  sanctuary  were  introduced  in 
consequence  of  the  fall.     While  these  rites  were 

'  See  the  tenth  chapter  of  this  work. 


FROM    DAVID    TO    NEHEMIAH.  99 

in  force  they  necessarily,  to  some  extent,  con- 
nected the  Sabbath  with  the  festivals  of  the  Jews 
in  which  the  like  offerings  wei"e  made.  This  is 
seen  only  in  those  scriptures  which  record  the 
provision  made  for  these  offerings.^  When  the 
ceremonial  law  was  nailed  to  the  cross,  all  the 
Jewish  festivals  ceased  to  exist ;  for  they  were 
ordained  by  it ;  ^  but  the  abrogation  of  that  law 
could  only  take  away  those  rites  which  it  had 
appended  to  the  Sabbath,  leaving  the  original 
institution  precisely  as  it  came  at  first  from  its 
author. 

The  earliest  reference  to  the  Sabbath  after  the 
days  of  Moses  is  found  in  what  David  and  Sam- 
uel ordained  respecting  the  ofiices  of  the  priests 
and  Levites  at  the  house  of  God.  It  is  as  fol- 
lows : — 

' '  And  other  of  their  bretliren,  of  the  sons  of  the  Ko- 
hathites,  were  over  the  shew-bread,  to  prepare  it  every 
Sabbath."^ 

It  will  be  observed  tliat  this  is  only  an  inci- 
dental mention  of  the  Sabbath.  Such  an  allusion, 
occurring  after  so  long  a  silence,  is  decisive  proof 
that  the  Sabbath  had  not  been  forgotten  or  lost 
during  the  five  centuries  in  which  it  had  not  been 
mentioned  by  the  sacred  historians.  After  this 
no  direct  mention  of  the  Sabbath  is  found  from 
the  days  of  David  to  those  of  Elisha  the  prophet, 
a  period  of  about  one  hundi^ed  and  fifty  years. 
Perhaps  the  ninety-second  psalm  is  an  exception 
to  this  statement,  as  its  title,  both  in  Hebrew  and 
English,  declares   that   it   was  written   for   the 

1 1  Chron.  23  :  31 ;  2  Chron.  2:4;  8:13;  31:3;  Neh.  10:31, 
33  ;  Eze.  45  :  17.  -  See  chapter  vii.  of  this  work, 

n  Chron.  9:32. 


100  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABRATH. 

Sabbath  day ;  ^  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  it 
was  composed  by  David,  the  sweet  singer  of 
Israel. 

The  son  of  the  Shunammite  woman  being  dead, 
she  sought  the  prophet  Elisha.  Her  husband  not 
knowing  that  the  child  was  dead  said  to  her: — 

' '  Wherefore  wilt  thou  go  to  him  to-day  ?  It  is  neither 
new  moon,  nor  Sabbath.     And  she  said,  It  shall  be  Avell." " 

It  is  probable  that  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  is 
here  intended,  as  it  is  thrice  used  in  a  like  connec- 
tion. ^  If  this  be  correct,  it  shows  that  the  He- 
brews were  accustomed  to  visit  the  prophets  of 
God  upon  that  day  for  divine  instruction ;  a  very 
good  commentary  upon  the  words  used  relative 
to  gathering  the  manna :  "  Let  no  man  go  out  of 
his  place  on  the  seventh  day."  ^  Incidental  allu- 
sion is  made  to  the  Sabbath  at  the  accession  of 
Jehoash  to  the  throne  of  Judah,  ^  about  B.  c.  778. 
In  the  reign  of  Uzziah,  the  grandson  of  Jehoash, 
the  prophet  Amos,  B.  c.  787,  uses  the  following 
language : — 

"Hear  this,  O  ye  that  swallow  up  the  needy,  even  to 
make  the  poor  of  the  land  to  fail,  saying,  When  will  the 
new  moon  be  gone,  that  we  may  sell  corn  ?  and  the  Sab- 
bath, that  we  may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the   ephah 

1  Cotton  Mather  says:  "There  is  a  psalm  in  the  Bible  whereof 
the  title  is,  'A  Psalm  or  Song  for  the  Sabbath  day,'  Now  'tis  a 
clause  in  that  psalm,  '0  Lord,  how  great  are  thy  works!  thy 
thoughts  are  very  deep.'  Ps.  92  :  5.  That  clause  intimates  what 
we  should  make  the  subject  of  our  meditations  on  tlie  Sabbath 
day.  Our  thoughts  are  to  be  on  God's  works." — JDiscouvse  on 
the  Lord's  Bay,  p  80,  a  ■  n.  170-3.  And  Hengstenberg  says  :  "  This 
psalm  is  according  to  the  heading,  '  A  Song  for  the  Sabbath  day.' 
The  proper  positive  employment  of  the  Sabbath  appears  here  to 
be  a  thankful  contemplation  of  the  works  of  God,  a  devotional 
absorption  in  them  which  could  only  exist  when  ordinary  occupa- 
tions are  laid  aside." — The  Lord's  Dcnjy  pp.  36,  37. 

2  2  Kings  4  :  23.  3  Isa.  66  ;  23 ;  Eze.  46  : 1  ;  Amos  8  :  5. 
4  Ex.  16  :  29.  5  2  Kings  11  ;  5-9  ;  2  Chron.  23  ;  4-8, 


FROM  DAVID  TO  NEHEMIAH.  101 

small,  and  the  shekel  great,  and  falsifying  the  balances 
by  deceit  ?  that  we  may  buy  the  poor  for  silver,  and  the 
needy  for  a  pair  of  shoes  ;  yea,  and  sell  the  refuse  of  the 
wheat  ?"^ 

These  words  were  spoken  more  directly  con- 
cerning the  ten  tribes,  and  indicate  the  sad  state 
of  apostasy  which  soon  after  resulted  in  their 
overthrow  as  a  people.  About  fifty  years  aftei^ 
this,  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  another 
allusion  to  the  Sabbath  is  found.  ^  In  the  days 
of  Hezekiah,  about  B.  c.  712,  the  prophet  Isaiah 
uses  the  folio wingr  lanoruaore  in  enforcing  the  Sab- 
bath : — 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Keep  ye  judgment  and  do  jus- 
tice ;  for  my  salvation  is  near  to  come,  and  my  righteous- 
ness to  be  revealed.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  doeth  this, 
and  the  son  of  man  that  layeth  hold  on  it  ;  that  keepeth  the 
Sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and  keepeth  his  hand  from  do- 
ing any  evil.  Neither  let  the  son  of  the  stranger,  that 
hath  joined  himself  to  the  Lord,  speak,  saying.  The  Lord 
hath  utterly  separated  me  from  his  people  ;  neither  let  the 
eunuch  say.  Behold  I  am  a  dry  tree.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord 
unto  the  eunuchs  that  keep  my  Sabbaths,  and  choose  the 
things  that  please  me,  and  take  hold  of  my  covenant,  even 
unto  them  wiU  I  give  in  mine  house  and  within  my  walls, 
a  x^lace  and  a  name  better  than  of  sons  and  of  daughters  ; 
I  will  give  them  an  everlasting  name  that  shall  not  be  cut 
off.  Also  the  sons  of  the  stranger,  that  join  themselves 
to  the  Lord,  to  serve  him,  and  to  love  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  t©  be  his  servants,  every  one  that  keepeth  the  Sab- 
bath from  polluting  it,  and  taketh  hold  of  my  covenant ; 
even  them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy  mountain,  and  make 
them  joyful  in  my  house  of  prayer  ;  their  bvTrnt- offerings 
and  their  sacrifices  shall  be  accepted  upon  mine  altar  ;  for 
mine  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  peo- 
ple. The  Lord  God  wliich  gathereth  the  outcasts  of  Is- 
rael saith,  Yet  vnll  I  gather  others  to  him,  beside  those 
that  are  gathered  unto  him."^ 

This  prophecy  presents  several  features  of  pe- 

1  Amo^  S  :  4-0.  2 o  Kings  ir,  ;  1 S.  --^  Tsa.  5G  :  1-8. 


102  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

culiar  interest.  1.  It  pertains  to  a  time  when 
the  salvation  of  God  is  near  at  hand.  ^  2.  It  most 
distinctly  shows  that  the  Sabbath  is  not  a  Jew^ish 
institution ;  for  it  pronounces  a  blessing  upon 
that  man  without  respect  of  nationality  who  shall 
keep  the  Sabbath ;  and  it  then  particularizes  the 
son  of  the  stranger,  that  is,  the  Gentile,^  and 
ffnakes  a  peculiar  promise  to  him  if  he  will  keep 
the  Sabbath.  3.  And  this  prophecy  relates  to 
Israel  when  they  are  outcasts,  that  is,  Avhen  they 
are  in  their  dispersion,  promising  to  gather  them, 
and  others,  that  is,  the  Gentiles,  with  them.  Of 
course  the  condition  of  being  gathered  to  God's 
holy  mountain  must  be  complied  with,  namely, 
to  love  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  be  his  serv- 
ants, and  to  keep  the  Sabbath  from  polluting  it. 
4.  And  hence  it  follows  that  the  Sabbath  is  not  a 
local  institution,  susceptible  of  being  observed  in 
the  promised  land  alone,  like  the  annual  sabbaths,  ^ 
but  one  made  for  mankind  and  capable  of  being 
observed  by  the  outcasts  of  Israel  when  scattered 
in  every  land  under  heaven.  ^ 

Isaiah  again  presents  the  Sabbath ;  and  this  he 
does  in  language  most  emphatically  distinguish- 
ing it  from  all  ceremonial  institutions.  Thus  he 
says : — 

"If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath,  from 
doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  clay  ;  and  call  the  Sabbath 
a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honorable  ;  and  shalt  hon- 
or him,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine  o-wni 
pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  own  words  :  then  shalt  thou 
delight  thyself  in  the  Lord  ;  and  I  will  cause  thee  to  ride 
upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  and  feed  thee  with  the 

'  For  the  coming  of  this  salvation  see  Ileb.  9  ;  28  ;  1  Pet.  1 ;  9, 

■^  Ex.  12  ;  48,  49  ;  Isa.  14  : 1 ;  Eph.  2  ;  12. 

3  See  chapter  vii.  ■«  Dent  28  :  G4 ;  Luke  21  :  24. 


FROM  DAVID  TO  NEHEMIAH.  103 

heritage  of  Jacob  thy  father  ;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it."^ 

This  language  is  an  evangelical  commentary 
upon  the  fourth  commandment.  It  appends  to 
it  an  exceeding  great  and  precious  promise  that 
takes  hold  upon  the  land  promised  to  Jacob,  even 
the  new  earth.  ^ 

In  the  year  B.  c.  601,  thirteen  years  before  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  God 
made  to  the  Jewish  people  through  Jeremiah  the 
gracious  offer,  that  if  they  would  keep  his  Sab- 
bath, their  city  should  stand  forever.  At  the 
same  time  he  testified  unto  them  that  if  they 
would  not  do  this,  their  city  should  be  utterly 
destroyed.     Thus  said  the  prophet : — 

' '  Hear  ye  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  kings  of  Judah,  and 
all  Judah,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  that  enter 
in  by  these  gates  :  Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  Take  heed  to 
yourselves,  and  bear  no  burden  on  the  Sabbath  day,  nor 
bring  it  in  by  the  gates  of  Jerusalem ;  ^  neither  carry  forth 
a  burden  *  out  of  your  houses  on  the  Sabbath  day,  neither 
do  ye  any  work,  but  hallow  ye  the  Sabbath  day,  as  I 
commanded  your  fathers.  But  they  obeyed  not,  neither 
inclined  their  ears,  but  made  their  necks  stiff,  that  they 
might  not  hear,  nor  receive  instruction.  ^  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  if  ye  diligently  hearken  unto  me,  saith  the 
Lord,  to  bring  in  no  burden  through  the  gates  of  this  city 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  but  hallow  the  Sabbath  day,  to  do  no 
work  therein  ;  then  shall  there  enter  into  the  gates  of  this 


1  Isa.  58  :  13,  14.  2  Matt.  8  :  11 ;  Heb.  11 :  8-16 ;  Rev.  21. 

3 On  this  text  Dr.  A.  Clarke  comments  thus :  "From  this  and 
the  following  verses  we  find  the  ruin  of  the  Jews  attributed  to  the 
breach  of  the  Sabbath :  as  this  led  to  a  neglect  of  sacrifice,  the 
ordinances  of  religion,  and  all  public  worship ;  so  it  necessarily 
brought  with  it  all  immorality.  The  breach  of  the  Sabbath  was 
that  which  let  in  upon  them  all  the  waters  of  God's  wrath." 

4  For  an  inspired  commentary  on  this  language,  see  Neh.  13  : 
15-18. 

5  This  language  strongl}' implies  that  the  violation  of  the  Sab- 
bath had  ever  been  general  with  the  Hebrews.     See  Jer.  7  :  23-28. 


104  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

city  kings  and  princes  sitting  upon  the  throne  of  David, 
riding  in  chariots  and  on  horses,  they,  and  their  princes, 
the  men  of  Judah,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  this  city  shall  remain  forever.  And  they 
shall  come  from  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  from  the  places 
about  Jerusalem,  and  from  the  land  of  Benjamin,  and 
from  the  plain,  and  from  the  mountains,  and  from  the 
south,  bringing  burnt-offerings,  and  sacrifices,  and  meat- 
offerings, and  incense,  and  bringing  sacrifices  of  praise, 
unto  the  house  of  the  Lord.  But  if  ye  will  not  hearken 
unto  me  to  hallow  the  Sabbath  day,  and  not  to  bear  a 
burden,  even  entering  in  at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  on  the 
Sabbath  day  ;  then  will  I  kindle  a  fire  in  the  gates  thereof, 
and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  of  Jerusalem,  and  it  shall 
not  be  quenched."^ 

This  gracious  offer  of  the  Most  High  to  his  re- 
bellious people  was  not  regarded  by  them ;  for 
eight  years  after  this  Ezekiel  testifies  thus : — 

' '  In  thee  have  they  set  light  by  father  and  mother  :  in 
the  midst  of  thee  have  they  dealt  by  oppression  with  the 
stranger  :  in  thee  have  they  vexed  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow.     Thou  hast  despised  mine  holy  things,  and  hast 

profaned  my  Sabbaths Her  priests  have  violated 

my  law,  and  have  profaned  mine  holy  things  :  they  have 
put  no  difference  between  the  holy  and  profane,  neither 
have  they  showed  difference  between  the  unclean  and  the 
clean,  and  have  hid  their  eyes  from  my  Sabbaths,  and  I 

am  profaned  among  them Moreover  this  they 

have  done  imto  me  :  they  have  defiled  my  sanctuary  in 
the  same  day,  and  have  profaned  my  Sabbaths.  For 
when  they  had  slain  their  children  to  their  idols,  then 
they  came  the  same  day  into  my  sanctuary  to  profane  it  ; 
and,  lo,  thus  have  they  done  in  the  midst  of  mine  house."" 

Idolatry  and  Sabbath-breaking,  which  were  be- 
setting sins  with  the  Hebrews  in  the  wilderness, 
and  which  there  laid  the  foundation  for  their  dis- 
persion from  their  own  land,^  had  ever  cleaved 
unto  them.     And   now  when   their  destruction 

>  Jer.  17  :  20-27.  =>  Eze.  22  :  7,  8,  26 ;  23  :  38,  30. 

sEze.  20  :  23,  24;  Dent.  32  :  lfi-35. 


FROM  DAVID  TO  NEHEMIAH.  105 

was  impending  from  the  ovenvhelming  power  of 
the  king  of  Babylon,  they  were  so  deeply  attached 
to  these  and  kindred  sins,  that  they  would  not 
reofard  the  voice  of  warning:.  Before  enterincj  the 
sanctuary  of  God  upon  his  Sabbath,  they  first 
slew  their  own  children  in  sacrifice  to  their  idols  !  ^ 
Thus  iniquity  came  to  its  hight,  and  wrath  came 
upon  them  to  the  uttermost. 

^'They  mocked  the  messengers  of  God,  and  despised 
his  words,  and  misused  liis  prophets,  until  the  wrath  of 
the  Lord  arose  against  his  people,  till  there  was  no  rem- 
edy. Therefore  he  brought  upon  them  the  king  of  the 
Chaldees,  who  slew  their  young  men  with  the  sword  in 
the  house  of  their  sanctuary,  and  had  no  compassion 
upon  young  man  or  maiden,  old  man,  or  him  that 
stooped  for  age :  he  gave  them  all  into  his  hand.  And  all 
the  vessels  of  the  house  of  God,  great  and  small,  and 
the  treasures  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  the  treasures 
of  the  king,  and  of  his  princes ;  all  these  he  brought  to 
Babylon,  and  they  burnt  the  house  of  God,  and  brake  down 
the  wall  of  Jerusalem,  and  burnt  all  the  palaces  thereof 
with  fire,  and  destroyed  all  the  goodly  vessels  thereof. 
And  them  that  had  escaped  from  the  sword  carried  he 
away  to  Babylon ;  where  they  were  servants  to  him  and 
his  sons  until  the  reign  of  the  king  of  Persia."^ 

While  the  HebrcAVs  were  in  captivity  at  Baby- 
lon, God  made  to  them  an  offer  of  restoring  them 
to  their  own  land  and  giving  them  again  a  city 
and  a  temple  under  circumstances  of  wonderful 
glory.  ^  The  condition  of  that  offer  being  disre- 
garded,^ the  offered  glory  was  never  inherited  by 
them.  In  this  offer  were  several  allusions  to  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  and  also  to  the  festivals  of 
the  Hebrews.^     One  of  these  allusions  is  worthy 


lEze.  23:  38,  39. 

2  2Chron.  36:10-20. 

3Eze.,  chapters  40-48. 

*Eze.  43:7-11. 

6  Eze.  44  :  24  ;  45  :  17  ;  4t^ :  1,  3,  4,  12. 

SaUath  llislorr.                                   S 

106  HISTOKV    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

of  particular  notice  for  the  distinctness  with 
which  it  discriminates  between  the  Sabbath  and 
the  other  days  of  the  week : — 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  :  The  gate  of  the  inner 
court  that  looketh  toward  the  east,  shall  be  shut  the  six 
WORKING  DAYS  ;  but  on  the  Sabbath  it  shall  be  opened, 
and  in  the  day  of  the  new  moon  it  shall  be  opened."  ^ 

Six  days  of  the  week  are  by  divine  inspiration 
called  "  the  six  working  days ;"  the  seventh  is 
called  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  Who  shall  dare 
confound  this  marked  distinction  ? 

After  the  Jews  had  returned  from  their  cap- 
tivity in  Babylon,  and  had  restored  their  temple 
and  city,  in  a  solemn  assembly  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple they  recount  in  an  address  to  the  Most  High 
all  the  great  events  of  God's  providence  in  their 
past  history.  Thus  they  testify  respecting  the 
Sabbath : — 

''Thou  earnest  down  also  upon  Mount  Sinai,  and  spak- 
est  with  them  from  heaven,  and  gavest  them  right  judg- 
ments, and  true  laws,  good  statutes  and  commandments  : 
and  madest  known  unto  them  thy  holy  Sabbath,  and  com- 
mandest  them  precepts,  statutes,  and  laws,  by  the  hand 
of  Moses  thy  servant."^ 

Thus  were  all  the  people  reminded  of  the  great 
events  of  Mount  Sinai — the  giving  of  the  ten 
words  of  the  law  of  God,  and  the  making  known 
of  his  holy  Sabbath.  So  deeply  impressed  was 
the  whole  congregation  with  the  effect  of  their 
former  disobedience,  that  they  entered  into  a  sol- 
emn covenant  to  obey  God.  ^  They  pledged 
themselves  to  each  other  thus : — 

"And  if  the  people  of  the  land  bring  ware  or  any  vict- 
uals on  the  Sabbath  day  to  sell,  that  we  would  not  buy 

»  Ezo.  46  :  1.  ••'Neh.  0  :  13,  U.  » xVeli.  It  :  38  ;  10  : 1-81. 


FROM    DAVID    TO    NEHEMIAH.  107 

it  of  them  on  the  Sabbath,  or  on  the  holy  day  ;  and  that 
we  would  leave  the  seventh  year,  and  the  exaction  of 
every  debt."  ^ 

In  the  absence  of  Neliemiali  at  the  Persian 
court,  this  covenant  was  in  part,  at  least,  forgot- 
ten. Eleven  years  having  elapsed,  Neliemiah 
thus  testifies  concerning  things  at  his  return  about 
B.  c.  434  :— 

' '  In  those  days  saw  I  in  Judah  some  treading  wine- 
presses on  the  Sabbath,  and  bringing  in  sheaves,  and  lad- 
ing asses  ;  as  also  wine,  grapes,  and  figs,  and  all  manner 
of  burdens,  which  they  brought  into  Jerusalem  on  the 
Sabbath  day ;  and  I  testified  against  them  in  the  day  where- 
in they  sold  victuals.  There  dwelt  men  of  Tyre  also  therein, 
which  brought  fish,  and  all  manner  of  ware,  and  sold  on 
the  Sabbath  unto  the  children  of  Judah,  and  in  Jerusalem. 
Then  I  contended  with  the  nobles  of  Judah,  and  said  unto 
them,  What  evdl  thing  is  this  that  ye  do,  and  profane  the 
Sabbath  day  1  Did  not  your  fathers  thus,  and  did  not 
our  God  bring  all  this  evil  upon  us,  and  upon  this  city  1 
yet  ye  bring  more  wrath  upon  Israel  by  profaning  the 
Sabbath.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem  began  to  be  dark  before  the  Sabbath,^  I  com- 
manded that  the  gates  should  be  shut,  and  charged  that 

iNeh.  10:  31. 

2  A  few  words  relative  to  the  time  of  beginning  the  Sabbath  are 
here  demanded.  1.  The  reckoning  of  the  first  week  of  time  nec- 
essarily determines  that  of  all  succeeding  weeks.  The  first  division 
of  the  first  day  was  niijht ;  and  each  day  of  the  first  week  began 
with  evening;  the  evening  and  the  morning,  an  expression  equiv- 
alent to  the  night  and  the  day,  constituted  the  day  of  twenty-four 
hours.  Gen.  1.  Hence,  the  first  Sabbath  began  and  ended  with 
evening.  2.  That  the  night  is  in  the  Scriptures  reckoned  a  part 
of  the  day  of  twenty-four  hours,  is  proved  bv  many  texts.  Ex. 
12  :41,  4:2  ;  1  Sam.  26  : 7,  8;  Luke  2  : 8-11 ;  Mark  14  :  30 ;  Luke 
22  :  34,  and  many  other  testimonies.  3.  The  2300  days,  symbol- 
izing 2300  years,  are  each  constituted  like  the  days  of  the  first 
week  of  time.  Dan.  8  :  14.  The  margin,  which  gives  the  literal 
Hebrew,  calls  each  of  these  days  an  "evening  morning."  4. 
The  statute  defining  the  great  day  of  atonement  is  absolutely  de- 
cisive that  the  day  begins  with  evening,  and  that  the  night  is  a 
part  of  the  day.  Lev.  23  :32.  "It  shall  be  unto  you  a  Sabbath 
of  rest,  and  ye  shall  afiiict  your  souls  :  in  the  ninth  day  of  the 
month  at  even,  from  even  iiuto  even  shall  ye  celebrate  your  Sab- 


108  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

tliey  should  not  be  opened  till  after  the  Sabbath  :  and 
some  of  my  servants  set  I  at  the  gates,  that  there  should 
no  burden  be  brought  in  on  the  Sabbath  day.  So  the 
merchants  and  sellers  of  all  kind  of  ware  lodged  without 
Jerusalem  once  or  twice.  Then  I  testified  against  them, 
and  said  unto  them,  Why  lodge  ye  about  the  wall  ?  if 
ye  do  so  again,  I  will  lay  hands  on  you.  From  that  time 
forth  came  they  no  more  on  the  Sabbath.  And  I  com- 
manded the  Levites  that  they  should  cleanse  themselves, 
and  that  they  should  come  and  keep  the  gates,  to  sanctify 
the  Sabbath  day.  Remember  me,  O  my  God,  concerning 
this  also,  and  spare  me  according  to  the  greatness  of  thy 
mercy."  ^ 

This  scripture  is  an  explicit  testimony  that  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  captivity  of  the 
Jews  at  Babylon  were  in  consequence  of  their  pro- 
fanation of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  a  striking  con- 
firmation of  the  language  of  Jeremiah,  already 
noticed,  in  which  he  testified  to  the  Jews  that  if 
they  would  hallow  the  Sabbath  their  city  should 
stand  forever ;  but  that  it  should  be  utterly  de- 
stroyed if  they  persisted  in  its  profanation.  Ne- 
hemiah  bears  testimony  to  the  accomplishment 


bath."  5.  That  evening  is  at  sunset  is  abvmdantlv  proved  by  the 
following  scriptures ;  Deut.  16:6;  Lev.  22  :  6,  7  ;  Dent.  23 : 2  ;  24  : 
13,  15;  Josh.  8:29;  10:26,  27;  Judges  14:18;  2  Sam.  3:35; 
2  Chron.  18  :  34 ;  Matt.  8:16;  Mark  1  :  32 ;  Luke  4  :  40.  But  does 
not  Neh.  13  :  19,  conflict  with  this  testimony,  and  indicate  that 
the  Sabbath  did  not  begin  until  after  dark  ?  1  think  not.  The 
text  does  not  say,  "  When  it  began  to  be  dark  at  Jerusalem  be- 
fore the  Sabbath,"  but  it  says,  "When  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  be- 
gan to  be  dark."  If  it  be  remembered  that  the  gates  of  Jerusa- 
lem were  placed  under  wide  and  high  walls,  it  will  not  be  found 
difficult  to  harmoniz.e  this  text  with  the  many  here  adduced, 
■which  prove  that  the  day  begins  with  sunset. 

Calmet,  in  his  Bible  Dictionary,  article.  Sabbath,  thus  states 
the  ancient  Jewish  method  of  beginning  the  Sabbath:  "About 
half  an  hour  before  the  sunset  all  work  is  quitted  and  the  Sabbath 
is  supposed  to  be  begun."  lie  speaks  thus  of  the  close  of  the 
Sabbath  :  "When  night  comes,  and  they  can  discern  in  the 
heaven  three  stars  of  moderate  magnitude,  then  the  Sabbath  is 
ended,  and  they  may  return  to  their  ordinary  employments." 

J  Neh.  13  :  15-22. 


FROM    NEHEMIAIl    TO    CHRIST.  109 

of  Jeremiah's  prediction  concerning  the  violation 
of  the  Sabbath ;  and  with  his  solemn  appeal  in 
its  behalf  ends  the  history  of  the  Sabbath  in  the 
Old  Testament. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE   SABBATH   FROM   NEHEMIAH   TO   CHRIST. 

Great  change  in  the  Jewish  people  respecting  idolatry  and 
Sabbath-breaking  after  their  return  from  Babylon — Decree 
of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  against  the  Sabbath — Massacre  of 
a  thousand  Sabbath-keepers  in  the  wilderness — Similar 
massacre  at  Jerusalem — Decree  of  the  Jewish  elders  rela- 
tive to  resisting  attacks  upon  the  Sabbath — Other  martyr- 
doms— Victories  of  Judas  Maccabeus — How  Pompey  capt- 
ured Jerusalem — Teaching  of  the  Jewish  doctors  respect- 
ing the  Sabbath — State  of  the  Sabbatic  institution  at  the 
first  advent  of  the  Saviour. 

The  period  of  almost  five  centuries  intervenes 
between  the  time  of  Nehemiah  and  the  com- 
mencement of  the  ministry  of  the  Redeemer. 
During  this  time  an  extraordinary  change  came 
over  the  Jewish  people.  Previously,  they  had 
been  to  an  alarming  extent  idolaters,  and  out- 
breaking violators  of  the  Sabbath.  But  after 
their  return  from  Babylon  they  were  never  guilty 
of  idolatry  to  any  extent,  the  chastisement  of 
that  captivity  effecting  a  cure  of  this  evil.^  In 
like  manner  did  they  change  their  conduct  rela- 
tive to  the  Sabbath ;  and  during  this  period  they 
loaded  the  Sabbatic  institution  with  the  most 
burdensome   and   rigorous   ordinances.     A  brief 

1  Speaking  of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  in  his  note  on  Eze.  23: 
48,  Dr.  Clarke  says:  "From  that  time  to  the  present  day  the 
Jews  never  relapsed  into  idolatry." 


110  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

survey  of  this  period  must  suffice.  Under  the 
reign  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  king  of  Syria, 
B.  c.  170,  the  Jews  were  greatly  oppressed. 

''King  Antioclms  -WToto  to  his  whole  kingdom,  that  all 
should  be  one  people,  and  every  one  should  leave  his 
laws  :  so  all  the  heathen  agreed  according  to  the  command- 
ment of  the  king.  Yea,  many  also  of  the  Israelites  con- 
sented to  his  religion,  and  sacrificed  unto  idols,  and  pro- 
faned the  Sabbath."  ^ 

The  greater  part  of  the  Hebrews  remained 
faithful  to  God,  and,  as  a  consequence,  were 
obliged  to  flee  for  their  lives.  Thus  the  histo- 
rian continues : — 

''Then  many  that  sought  after  justice  and  judgment 
went  down  into  the  wilderness,  to  dwell  there  :  both  they, 
and  their  children,  and  their  wives,  and  their  cattle  ;  be- 
cause afflictions  increased  sore  upon  them,  Now  when  it 
was  told  the  king's  servants,  and  the  host  that  was  at 
Jerusalem,  in  the  city  of  David,  that  certain  men,  who 
had  broken  the  king's  commandment,  were  gone  down 
into  the  secret  places  in  the  wilderness,  they  pursued  after 
them  a  great  number,  and  having  overtaken  them,  they 
camped  against  them,  and  made  war  against  them  on  the 
Sabbath  day.  And  they  said  unto  them,  Let  that  which 
ye  have  done  hitherto  suffice  ;  come  forth,  and  do  accord- 
ing to  the  commandment  of  the  king,  and  ye  shall  live. 
But  they  said,  We  will  not  come  forth,  neither  Avill  we  do 
the  king's  commandment,  to  profane  the  Sabbath  day. 
So  then  they  gave  them  the  battle  with  all  speed.  How- 
beit  they  answered  them  not,  neither  cast  they  a  stone  at 
them,  nor  stopped  the  places  where  they  lay  hid.  But 
said.  Let  us  die  all  in  our  innocency  :  heaven  and  earth 
shall  testify  for  us,  that  ye  put  us  to  death  wrongfully. 
So  they  rose  up  against  them  in  battle  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  they  slew  them,  with  their  v/ives  and  children,  and 
their  cattle,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  people." - 

In  Jerusalem  itself  a  like  massacre  took  place. 

>  1  Mac.  1 :  41-43. 

"1  Mac.  2  :  29-38;  Joscplius'  Antiquities,  b.  xii.  chap.  vi. 


FR03I    NEHEMIAH    TO    CHRIST.  Ill 

King  Antioclius  sent  AppoUonins  with  an  army 
of  twenty-two  thousand, 

"  Yfho,  coming  to  Jerusalem,  and  pretending  peace,  did 
forbear  till  the  holy  day  of  the  Sabbath,  when  taking  the 
Jews  keeping  holy  day,  he  commanded  his  men  to  arm 
themselves.  And  so  he  slew  all  them  that  were  gone  to 
the  celebrating  of  the  Sabbath,  and  running  through  the 
city  with  weapons,  slew  great  multitudes."  ^ 

In  view  of  these  dreadfal  acts  of  slaughter, 
Mattathias,  ''an  honorable  and  great  man/'  the 
father  of  Judas  Maccabeus,  with  his  friends  de- 
creed thus : — 

"  Wliosoever  shall  come  to  make  battle  with  us  on  the 
Sabbath  day  we  will  fight  against  him  ;  neither  will  we 
die  all,  as  our  brethren  that  were  murdered  in  the  secret 
places."* 

Yet  were  some  martyred  after  this  for  observ- 
ing the  Sabbath.     Thus  we  read : — 

' '  And  others,  that  had  run  together  into  caves  near 
by,  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day  secretly,  being  discovered  to 
Philip,  were  all  burnt  together,  because  they  made  a 
conscience  to  help  themselves  for  the  honor  of  the  most 
sacred  day."  ^ 

After  this,  Judas  Maccabeus  did  great  exploits 
in  defense  of  the  Hebrews,  and  in  resisting  the 
dreadful  oppression  of  the  Syrian  government. 
Of  one  of  these  battles  we  read  : — 

' '  When  he  had  given  them  this  watchword,  The  help 
of  God,  himself  leading  the  first  band,  he  joined  battle 
with  Nicanor.  And  by  the  help  of  the  Almighty  they  slew 
above  nine  thousand  of  their  enemies,  and  wounded  and 
maimed  the  most  part  of  Nicanor's  host,  and  so  put  all 
to  flight ;  and  took  their  money  that  came  to  buy  them, 
and  pursued  them  far  ;  but  lacking  time,  they  returned  : 
for  it  was  the  day  before  the  Sabbath,  and  therefore  they 

J  2  Mac.  5  :  25,  26.  '  1  Mac.  2  :  41.  3  2  Mac.  6:11. 


112  HISTORY    OF    THK    SABBATH. 

would  no  longer  pursue  them.  So  wlien  they  liad  gath- 
ered their  armor  together,  and  spoiled  their  enemies,  they 
occupied  tliemselves  about  the  Sabbath,  yielding  exceed- 
ing praise  and  thanks  to  the  Lord,  who  had  preserved 
them  unto  that  day,  which  was  the  beginning  of  mercy 
distilling  upon  them.  And  after  the  Sa,bbath,  when  they 
had  given  part  of  the  spoils  to  the  maimed,  and  the  wid- 
ows, and  orphans,  the  residue  they  divided  among  them- 
selves and  their  servants."^ 

After  this  the  Hebrews  being  attacked  upon 
the  Sabbath  by  their  enemies,  defeated  them 
with  much  slaughter.^ 

About  B.  c.  63,  Jerusalem  was  beseiged  and 
taken  by  Pompey,  the  general  of  the  Romans. 
To  do  this,  it  was  necessary  to  fill  an  immense 
ditch,  and  to  raise  against  the  city  a  bank  on 
which  to  place  the  engines  of  assault.  Thus  Jo- 
sephus  relates  the  event : — ■ 

''And  had  it  not  been  our  practice,  from  the  days  of  our 
forefathers,  to  rest  on  the  seventh  day,  this  bank  could 
never  have  been  perfected,  by  reason  of  the  opposition 
the  Jews  would  have  made  ;  for  though  our  law  gives  us 
leave  then  to  defend  ourselves  against  those  that  begin 
to  fight  with  us,  and  assult  us,  yet  does  it  not  permit  us 
to  meddle  %\'ith  our  enemies  while  they  do  anything  else. 
Which  thing  when  the  Romans  understood,  on  those  days 
Avhich  we  call  Sabbaths,  they  threw  nothing  at  the  Jews, 
nor  came  to  any  pitched  battle  with  them,  but  raised  up 
their  earthen  banks,  and  brought  their  engines  into  such 
forwardness,  that  they  might  do  execution  the  next 
days."^ 

1  2  Mac.  8  :  23-28.  M  Mac.  9  :  43-49  ;  Josephus' 

Antiquities,  b.  xiii.  chap.  i. ;  2  Mac.  15. 

3  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  b.  xiv.  chap.  iv.  Here  we  call  atten- 
tion to  one  of  those  historical  frauds  by  which  Sunday  is  shown 
to  be  the  Sabbath,  Dr.  Justin  Edwards  states  this  case  thus  : 
"Pompey,  the  Roman  general,  knowing  this,  when  besieging 
Jerusalem,  would  net  attack  them  on  the  Sabbath;  but  spent  the 
day  in  constructing  his  works,  and  preparing  to  attack  them  on 
Mondav,  and  in  a  manner  that  they  could  not  withstand,  and  so 
he  took  the  c\iy. "Sahbath  Manual,  p.  216.  That  is  to  say,  the 
next  dav  after  the  Sabbath  was  Monday,  and  of  course  Sunday 


FaOM    NEIIEMIAH    TO    CHRIST.  113 

From  this  it  is  seen  that  Pompey  carefully  re- 
frained from  any  attack  upon  the  Jews  on  each 
Sabbath  during  the  siege,  but  spent  that  day  in 
filling  the  ditch  and  raising  the  bank,  that  he 
might  attack  them  on  the  day  following  each 
Sabbath,  that  is,  upon  Sunday.  Josephus  fur- 
ther relates  that  the  priests  were  not  at  all  hin- 
dered from  their  sacred  ministrations  by  the  stones 
throv/n  among  them  from  the  engines  of  Pompey, 
even  "if  any  melancholy  accident  happened;" 
and  that  when  the  city  was  taken  and  the  enemy 
fell  upon  them,  and  cut  the  throats  of  those  that 
were  in  the  temples,  yet  did  not  the  priests  run 
away  or  desist  from  the  offering  of  the  accus- 
tomed sacrifices. 

These  Cjuotations  from  Jewish  history  are  suffi- 
cient to  indicate  the  extraordinary  change  that 
came  over  that  people  concerning  the  Sabbath, 
after  the  Babylonish  captivity.  A  brief  view  of 
the  teaching  of  the  Jewish  doctors  respecting  the 
Sabbath  at  the  time  when  our  Lord  beg^an  his 
ministry  will  conclude  this  chapter: — 

' '  They  enumerated  about  forty  primary  works,  which 
they  said  were  forbidden  to  be  done  on  the  Sabbath. 
Under  each  of  these  were  numerous  secondary  works, 
which  they  said  were  also  forbidden.  .  .  .  Among 
the  primary  works  which  were  forbidden,  were  ploughing, 
sowing,  reajiing,  winnowing,  cleaning,  grinding,  etc.  Un- 
der the  head  of  grinding,  was  included  the  breaking  or 
dividing  of  things  which  were  before  imited.  .  .  . 
Another  of  their  traditions  v/as,  that,  as  threshing  on  the 
Sabbath  was  forbidden,  the  bruising  of  things,  which  was 
a  species  of  threshing,  v/as  also  forbidden.  Of  course,  it 
was  violation  of  the  Sabbath  to  walk  on  green  grass, 
for  that  would  bruise  or  thresh  it.     So,  as  a  man  might 

was  the  Sabbath  !  Yet  Dr.  E.  well  knew  that  in  Pompey's  time, 
63  years  before  Christ,  Saturday  was  the  only  weekly  Sabbath, 
and  that  Sunday  and  not  Monday  was  the  day  of  attack. 


114  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

not  hunt  on  the  Sabbath,  he  might  not*  catch  a  flea  ;  for 
that  was  a  species  of  hunting.  As  a  man  might  not  carry 
a  burden  on  the  Sabbath,  he  might  not  carry  water  to  a 
thirsty  animal,  for  that  was  a  species  of  burden  ;  but  he 
might  pour  water  into  a  trough,  and  lead  the  animal  to 
it.  .  .  .  Yet  should  a  sheep  fall  into  a  pit,  they  would 
readily  lift  him  out,  and  bear  him  to  a  place  of  safety. 
.  .  .  They  said  a  man  might  minister  to  the  sick  for 
the  purpose  of  relieving  their  distress,  but  not  for  the 
purpose  of  healing  their  diseases.  He  might  put  a  cover- 
ing on  a  diseased  eye,  or  anoint  it  with  eye-salve  for 
the  purpose  of  easing  the  pain,  but  not  to  cure  the  eye."  ^ 

Such  was  the  remarkable  change  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  Jewish  people  toward  the  Sabbath ; 
and  such  was  the  teaching  of  their  doctors  re- 
specting it.  The  most  merciful  institution  of  God 
for  mankind  had  become  a  source  of  distress;  that 
which  God  ordained  as  a  delight  and  a  source  of 
refreshment  had  become  a  yoke  of  bondage ;  the 
Sabbath,  made  for  man  in  paradise,,  was  now  a 
most  oppressive  and  burdensome  institution.  It 
was  time  that  God  should  interfere.  Next  upon 
the  scene  of  action  appears  the  Lord  of  the  Sab- 
bath. 

J  Sabbath  Manual  of  Iho  American  Tract  Society,  pp.  214,  215. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY   WEEKS.  115 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   SABBATH   DURIXG   THE   LAST   OF   THE 
SEVENTY   WEEKS. 

Mission  of  the  Saviour — His  qualifications  as  a  judge  of  Sab- 
batic observance — State  of  the  institution  at  his  advent — 
The  Saviour  at  Nazareth — At  Capernaum — His  discourse  in 
the  corn-field — Case  of  the  man  with  a  withered  aim — The 
Saviour  amorig  his  relatives — Case  of  the  impotent  man — 
Of  the  man  born  blind — Of  the  woman  bound  by  Satan — 
Of  the  man  who  had  the  dropsy — Object  of  our  Lord's 
teaching  and  miracles  relative  to  the  Sabbath — Unfairness 
of  many  anti  Sabbatarians — Examination  of  Matt.  24:  20 
— The  Sabbath  not  abrogated  at  the  crucifixion — Fourth 
commandment  after  that  event — Sabbath  not  changed  at 
the  resurrection  of  Christ — Examination  of  John  20  :  26 — 
Of  Acts  2  :  1,  2 — Redemption  furuisbes  no  argument  for 
the  change  of  the  Sabbaih — Examination  of  Ps.  118:  22- 
24: — The  Sabbath  neither  abolished  nor  changed  as  late  as 
the  close  of  the  seventy  weeks. 

In  the  fullness  of  time  God  sent  forth  his  Son 
to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  He  who  fultilled 
this  mission  of  infinite  benevolence  was  both  the 
Son  of  God  and  the  Son  of  man.  He  was  with 
the  Father  before  the  world  was,  and  by  him  God 
created  all  things.^  The  Sabbath  being  ordained 
at  the  close  of  that  great  work  as  a  memorial  to 
keep  it  in  lasting  remembrance,  the  Son  of  God, 
by  whom  all  things  were  created,  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  a  perfect  judge  of  its  true  design, 
and  of  its  proper  observance.  The  sixty-nine 
weeks  of  Daniel's  prophecy  being  accomplished, 
the  Redeemer  began  to  preach,  sa}"ing,  "  The  time 
is  fulfilled."  ^     The  ministry  of  the  Saviour  was 

1  Gal.  4  :  4,  5 ;  John  1  :  1-10 ;  17  :  •'.  2^  :  Heh.  1 , 

2  Dan.  0:25;  Mark  1:14,  1.5. 


116  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABHATH. 

at  a  time  when  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  hid  be- 
come utterly  perverted  from  its  gracious  design, 
by  the  teaching  of  the  Jewish  doctors.  As  we 
have  seen  in  the  previous  chapter,  it  was  to  the 
people  no  longer  a  source  of  refreshment  and 
delight,  but  a  cause  of  suffering  and  distress.  It 
had  been  loaded  down  with  traditions  by  the 
doctors  of  the  law  until  its  merciful  and  benefi- 
cent design  was  utterly  hidden  beneath  the  rub- 
bish of  men's  inventions.  It  being  impracticable 
for  Satan,  after  the  Babylonish  captivity,  to  cause 
the  Jewish  people,  even  by  bloody  edicts,  to 
relinquish  the  Sabbath  and  openly  to  profane  it 
as  before  that  time,  he  turned  their  doctors  so  to 
pervert  it,  that  its  real  character  should  be  ut- 
terly changed  and  its  observance  entirely  unlike 
that  which  would  please  God.  We  shall  find 
that  the  Saviour  never  missed  an  opportunity  to 
correct  their  false  notions  respecting  the  Sabbath ; 
and  that  he  selected,  with  evident  design,  the 
Sabbath  as  the  da.y  on  which  to  perform  many  of 
his  merciful  works.  It  will  be  found  that  no 
small  share  of  his  teaching  through  his  whole 
ministry  w^as  devoted  to  a  determination  of  what 
was  lawful  on  the  Sabbath,  a  singular  fact  for 
those  to  explain  who  think  that  he  designed  its 
abrogation.  At  the  opening  of  our  Lord's  minis- 
try, we  read  thus  : — 

' '  And  Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  tlie  Spirit  into 
Galilee  ;  and  there  \Y8nt  out  a  fame  of  him  through  all 
the  region  round  about.  And  he  taught  in  their  syna- 
gogues, being  glorified  of  all.  And  he  came  to  Nazareth, 
where  he  had  been  brought  up  ;  and,  as  his  custom  was, 
he  went  into  the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and 
stood  up  for  to  read."  ^ 

3  Luke  4  :  14-10. 


LAST    OF   THE    SEVENTY   WEEKS.  117 

Sucli  was  the  manner  of  tlie  Saviour  relative 
to  the  Sabbath.  It  is  evident  that  in  this  he 
designed  to  show  his  regard  for  that  day  ;  for  it 
was  not  necessary  thus  to  do  in  order  to  gain  a 
congregation,  as  vast  multitudes  were  ever  ready 
to  throng  his  steps.  His  testimony  being  re- 
jected, our  Lord  left  Nazareth  for  Capernaum. 
Thus  the  sacred  historian  says  : — 

"But  he,  passing  tlirougli  the  midst  of  them,  went  his 
way,  and  came  down  to  Capernaum,  a  city  of  Galilee,  and 
taught  them  on  the  Sabbath  days.  And  they  were  as- 
tonished at  his  doctrine  ;  for  his  word  was  with  power. 
And  in  the  synagogue  there  was  a  man  which  had  a  spirit 
of  an  unclean  devil ;  and  he  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying,  Let  us  alone  ;  what  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  ;  art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  ?  I  know 
thee  who  thou  art  ;  the  Holy  One  of  God.  And  Jesus 
rebuked  him,  saying,  Hold  thy  peace,  and  come  out  of 
him.  And  when  the  devil  had  thrown  him  in  the  midst, 
he  came  out  of  him,  and  hurt  him  not.  And  they  were 
all  amazed,  and  spake  among  themselves,  saying.  What  a 
word  is  this !  for  with  authority  and  power  he  command- 
eth  the  unclean  spirits,  and  they  come  out.  And  the 
fame  of  him  went  out  into  every  place  of  the  country 
round  about.  And  he  arose  out  of  the  synagogue,  and 
entered  into  Simon's  house.  And  Simon's  wife's  mother 
was  taken  with  a  great  fever ;  and  they  besought  him  for 
her.  And  he  stood  over  her,  and  rebuked  the  fever ;  and 
it  left  her  ;  and  immediately  she  arose  and  ministered 
unto  them."  ^ 

These  miracles  are  the  first  which  stand  upon 
record  as  performed  by  the  Saviour  upon  the 
Sabbath.  But  the  strictness  of  Jewish  views  rel- 
ative to  the  Sabbath  is  seen  in  that  they  waited 
till  sunset,  that  is,  till  the  Sabbath  v/as  passed,  ^ 
before  they  brought  the  sick  to  be  healed.  Thus 
it  is  added : — 

1  Luke  4  :  30-39  ;  Mark  1  :  21-31 ;  Matt.  8  :  5-15. 

2  See.  on  this  point,  the  conclusion  of  chapter  riii. 


118  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

''And  at  even -when  the  sun  did  set,  they  brought  unto 
him  all  that  were  diseased,  and  them  that  were  possessed 
with  devils.  And  all  the  city  was  gathered  together  at 
the  door.  And  he  healed  many  that  were  sick  of  divers 
diseases,  and  cast  out  many  devils  ;  and  suffered  not  the 
devils  to  speak,  because  they  knew  him."  ^ 

The  next  mention  of  the  Sabbath  is  of  peculiar 
interest : — 

"  At  that  time  Jesus  went  on  the  Sabbath  day  through 
the  corn ;  and  his  disciples  were  an  hungered,  and  began 
to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn,  and  to  eat.  But  when  the 
Pharisees  saw  it,  they  said  unto  him.  Behold  ihy  disci- 
ples do  that  which  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon  the  Sabbath 
day.  But  he  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read  what  Da- 
vid did,  when  he  was  an  hungered,  and  they  that  were 
with  him ;  how  he  entered  into  the  house  of  God,  and  did 
eat  the  shew-bread,  which  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  eat, 
neither  for  them  which  were  with  him,  but  only  for  the 
priests  ?  Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law,  how  that  on  the 
Sabbath  day  the  priests  in  the  temple  profane  the  Sab- 
bath, and  are  blameless  ?  But  I  say  unto  you  that  in  this 
place  is  one  greater  than  the  temple.  But  if  ye  had 
known  what  this  meaneth,  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sac- 
rifice, ye  would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless.  For 
the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath  day."" 

The  parallel  text  in  Mark  lias  an  important  ad- 
dition to  the  conclusion  as  stated  by  Matthew :  — 

"And  he  said  unto  them.  The  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath  ;  therefore  the  Son  of 
man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."^ 

The  following  points  should  be  noted  in  exam- 
ining this  text : — 

1.  That  the  question  at  issue  did  not  relate  to 
the  act  of  passing  through  the  corn  on  the  Sab- 
bath ;  for  the  Pharisees  themselves  were  in  the 
company ;  and  hence  it  may  be  concluded   that 

iMark  1  :  32-34;  Luke  4  :  40. 

*  Matt.  12  :  1  -S  ;  Mark  2 :  23-28  ;  Luke  6 : 1-5.      ^  Mark  2  :  27,  28. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  119 

the  Saviour  and  those  with  liim  were  either  going 
to,  or  returning  from,  the  synagogue. 

2.  That  the  question  raised  by  the  Pharisees 
was  this :  Whether  the  disciples,  in  satisfying 
their  hunger  from  the  corn  through  which  they 
were  passing,  were  not  violating  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath. 

3.  That  he  to  whom  this  question  was  pro- 
posed was  in  the  highest  degree  competent  to 
answer  it ;  for  he  was  with  the  Father  when  the 
Sabbath  was  made.^ 

4.  That  the  Saviour  was  pleased  to  appeal  to 
scriptural  precedents  for  the  decision  of  this  ques- 
tion, rather  than  to  assert  his  own  independent 
judgment. 

5.  That  the  first  case  cited  by  the  Saviour  was 
peculiarly  appropriate.  David,  fieeing  for  his  life, 
entered  the  house  of  God  upon  the  Sabbath,- 
and  ate  the  shew-bread  to  satisfy  his  hunger. 
The  disciples,  to  relieve  their  hunger,  simply 
ate  of  the  corn  through  whicli  they  were  passing 
upon  the  Sabbath.  If  David  did  right,  though 
eating  in  his  necessity  of  that  which  belonged 
only  to  the  priests,  how  little  of  blame  could  be 
attached  to  the  disciples  who  had  not  even  vio- 
lated a  precept  of  the  ceremonial  law  ?  Thus 
much  for  the  disciples'  satisfying  their  hunger  as 
they  did  upon  the  Sabbath.  Our  Lord's  next 
example  is  designed  to  show  what  labor  upon 
the  Sabbath  is  not  a  violation  of  its  sacredness. 

6.  And  hence  the  case  of  the  priests  is  cited. 
The  same  God  who  had  said  in  the  fourth  com- 
mandment, "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all 
THY  work,"  had  commanded  that  the  priests  upon 

1  Comp.  John  1 : 1-3 ;  Gen.  1 : 1,  26  ;  2 : 1-3.       2  ggg  chap.  Anii. 


120  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  Sabbath  should  offer  certain  sacrifices  in  his 
temple.^ 

Herein  was  no  contradiction ;  for  the  labor  per- 
formed by  the  priests  upon  the  Sabbath  was  sim- 
ply the  maintenance  of  the  appointed  worship 
of  God  in  his  temple,  and  was  not  doing  what 
the  commandment  calls  "  THY  work."  Labor  of 
this  kind,  therefore,  the  Saviour  being  judge,  was 
not,  and  never  had  been,  a  violation  of  the  Sab- 
bath, 

7.  But  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  Saviour, 
in  this  reference  to  the  priests,  had  his  mind  not 
merely  upon  the  sacrifices  which  they  offered 
upon  the  Sabbath,  but  upon  the  fact  that  they 
were  required  to  prepare  new  shew-bread  every 
Sabbath ;  when  the  old  was  to  be  removed  from 
the  table  before  the  Lord  and  eaten  by  them.- 
This  view  of  the  matter  would  connect  the  case 
of  the  priests  with  that  of  David,  and  both  would 
bear  with  wonderful  distinctness  upon  the  act  of 
the  disciples.  Then  our  Lord's  argument  could 
be  appreciated  when  he  adds :  "But  I  say  unto 
you,  That  in  this  place  is  one  greater  than  the 
temple."  So  that  if  the  shew-bread  was  to  be 
prepared  each  Sabbath  for  the  use  of  those  who 
ministered  in  the  temple,  and  those  who  did  this 
were  guiltless,  how  free  from  guilt  also  must  be 
the  disciples  who,  in  following  Him  that  was 
greater  than  the  temple,  but  who  had  not  where  to 
lay  his  head,  had  eaten  of  the  standing  corn  upon 
the  Sabbath  to  relieve  their  hunger  ? 

8.  But  our  Lord  next  lays  down  a  principle 
worthy  of  the  most  serious  attention.  Thus  he 
adds  :  "  But  if  ye  had  known  what  this  meaneth, 


'  Nam.  '2S  :  0,  10.  '-  Lev.  24  :  H  <) ;  1  Chrnn.  0  :  32. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS,  121 

I  v/ill  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not 
have  condemned  the  guiltless."  The  Most  High 
had  ordained  certain  labor  to  be  performed  upon 
the  Sabbath,  in  order  that  sacrifices  might  be  of- 
fered to  himself  But  Christ  afiirms  upon  the 
authority  of  the  Scriptures,^  that  there  is  some- 
thing far  more  acceptable  to  God  than  sacrifices, 
and  that  this  is  acts  of  mercy.  If  God  held  those 
guiltless  who  offered  sacrifices  upon  the  Sabbath, 
how  much  less  would  he  condemn  those  who  ex- 
tend mercy  and  relief  to  the  distressed  and  suf- 
fering, upon  that  day. 

9.  Nor  does  the  Saviour  even  leave  the  subject 
here ;  for  he  adds :  "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath  ;  therefore  the 
Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."  If  the 
Sabbath  was  made,  certain  acts  were  necessary 
in  order  to  give  existence  to  it.  What  were 
those  acts  ?  (1)  God  rested  upon  the  seventh 
day.  This  made  the  seventh  day  the  rest-day  or 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  (2)  He  blessed  the  day ; 
thus  it  became  his  holy  day.  (3)  He  sancti- 
fied it,  or  set  it  apart  to  a  holy  use;  thus  its 
observance  became  a  part  of  man's  duty  toward 
God.  There  must  be  a  time  when  these  acts 
were  performed.  And  on  this  point  there  is 
really  no  room  for  controversy.  They  were  not 
performed  at  Sinai,  nor  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
but  in  paradise.  And  this  is  strikingly  confirmed 
by  the  language  here  used  by  the  Saviour :  "  The 
Sabbath  was  made  for  the  man,  not  the  man  for 
the  Sabbath ;"  ^  thus  citing  our  minds  to  the  man 

1  Rosea  6:  6. 

2  Thus  the  Greek  Testament:  Kal  IT^eyev  avTolg-  To  odjS- 
[iarov  6ia  rbv  avdguKov  lyhero,  sx  o  avOgomoc;  dta  to  aaf^- 
■iarov. 

Sablutli  TH.-^torv.  it 


122  HISTORY    OP    THE    .SABBATH. 

Adam  that  was  made  of  the  dust  of  the  ground, 
and  aftirmino'  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for 
him ;  a  conclusive  testimony  that  the  Sabbath 
originated  in  paradise.  This  fact  is  happily  il- 
lustrated by  a  statement  of  the  apostle  Paul : 
"  Neither  was  the  man  created  for  the  woman ; 
but  the  woman  for  the  man."  ^  It  will  not  be 
denied  that  this  language  has  direct  reference  to 
the  creation  of  Adam  and  Eve.  If  then  we  turn 
back  to  the  beginning,  we  shall  find  Adam  made 
of  the  dust  of  the  ground.  Eve  taken  from  his 
side,  and  the  Sabbath  made  of  the  seventh  day.^ 
Thus  the  Saviour,  to  complete  the  solution  of  the 
question  raised  by  the  Pharisees,  traces  the  Sab- 
bath back  to  the  beginning,  as  he  does  the  in- 
stitution of  marriage  when  the  same  class  pro- 
posed for  his  decision  the  lawfulness  of  divorce.^ 
His  careful  statement  of  the  design  of  the  Sab- 
bath and  of  marriage,  tracing  each  to  the  begin- 
ning, in  the  one  case  striking  down  their  perver- 
sion of  the  Sabbath,  in  the  other,  that  of  marriaore, 
is  the  most  powerful  testimony  in  behalf  of  the 
sacredness  of  each  institution.  The  argument  in 
the  one  case  stands  thus :  In  the  beginning  God 
created  one  man  and  one  woman,  designing  that 
they  TWO  should  be  one  flesh.  The  marriage  re- 
lation therefore  was  designed  to  unite  simply  two 
persons,  and  this  union  should  be  sacred  and  in- 
dissoluble. Such  was  the  bearing  of  his  aroru- 
ment  upon  the  question  of  divorce.  In  relation 
to  the  Sabbath,  his  argument  is  this :  God  made 
the  Sabbath  for  the  man  that  he  made  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground  ;  and  being  thus  made  for  an  un- 
fallen  race,  it  can  only  be  a  merciful  and  benefi- 


»1  Cor.  11:9.  «  Gen.  2: 1-3,  7,  21- 23.  3  Matt.  19;  3-9. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  123 

cent  institution.  He  who  made  the  Sabbath  for 
man  before  the  fail  saw  wliat  man  needed,  and 
knew  how  to  supply  that  want.  It  v/as  given  to 
him  for  rest,  refreshment,  and  delight ;  a  charac- 
ter that  it  sustained  after  the  fali,^  but  which  the 
Jews  had  wholly  lost  sight  of"  And  thus  our 
Lord  lays  open  his  whole  heart  concerning  the 
Sabbath.  He  carefully  determines  what  works 
are  not  a  violation  of  the  Sabbath ;  and  this  he 
does  by  Old-Testament  examples,  that  it  may  be 
evident  that  he  is  introducing  no  change  in  the 
institution;  he  sets  aside  their  rigorous  and  bur- 
densome traditions  concerning  the  Sabbath,  by 
tracing  it  back  to  its  mercifid  origin  in  paradise ; 
and  having  thus  disencumbered  the  Sabbath  of 
Pharisaic  rigor,  he  leaves  it  upon  its  paradisiacal 
foundation,  enforced  by  all  the  authority  and  sa- 
credness  of  that  law  which  he  came  not  to  de- 
stroy, but  to  magnify  and  make  honorable.^ 

10.  Having  thus  divested  the  Sabbath  of  all 
Pharisaic  additions,  our  Lord  concludes  with  this 
remarkable  declaration :  *'  Therefore  the  Son  of 
man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."  (1)  It  was 
not  a  disparagement  to  the  Sabbath,  but  an  honor, 
that  God's  only  Son  should  claim  to  be  its  Lord. 
(2)  Nor  was  it  derogatory  to  the  character  of  the 
Redeemer  to  be  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath ;  with 
all  the  high  honors  pertaining  to  his  messiahship 
he  is  ALSO  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  Or,  if  we  take 
the  expression  in  Matthew,  he  is  "  Lord  EVEX  of 
the  Sabbath  day,"  it  implies  that  it  is  not  a  small 
honor  to  possess  such  a  title.  (3)  This  title  im- 
plies that  the  Messiah  should  be  the  2:)rotector, 

1  Ex.  16:23;  23:12;  Isa.  53  :  18,  14. 

■^See  couclusion  of  cV.ap,  ix.  "Matt.  5:17-19;   Isa.  42:21. 


124  IIISTOKY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

and  not  the  destroyer,  of  the  Sabbath.  And 
hence  that  he  was  the  rightful  being  to  decide 
the  proper  nature  of  Sabbatic  observance.  With 
these  memorable  words  ends  our  Lord's  first  dis- 
course concerning  the  Sabbath. 

From  this  time  the  Pharisees  watched  the  Sav- 
iour to  find  an  accusation  against  him  of  violating 
the  Sabbath,  The  next  example  will  show  the 
malignity  of  their  hearts,  their  utter  perversion 
of  the  Sabbath,  the  urgent  need  of  an  authoritative 
correction  of  their  false  teachings  respecting  it, 
and  the  Saviour's  unanswerable  defense : — 

"  And  when  he  was  departed  thence,  he  went  into  their 
synagogue  :  and  behold  there  was  a  man  which  had  his 
hand  withered.  And  they  asked  him,  saying,  Is  it  law- 
ful to  heal  on  the  Sabbath  days  ?  that  they  might  accuse 
him.  And  he  said  unto  them.  What  man  shall  there  be 
among  you,  that  shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into  a  pit 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift  it 
out  ?  How  much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  \ 
Wherefore,  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on  the  Sabbath  days. 
Then  saith  he  to  the  man,  Stretch  forth  thine  hand.  And 
he  stretched  it  forth  ;  and  it  wae  restored  whole,  like  as 
the  other.  Then  the  Pharisees  went  out  and  held  a  coun- 
cil against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him."  ^ 

What  was  the  act  that  caused  this  madness  of 
the  Pharisees  ?  On  the  part  of  the  Saviour,  it 
was  a  word ;  on  the  part  of  the  man,  it  was  the 
act  of  stretching  out  his  arm.  Did  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath  forbid  either  of  these  things  ?  No  one 
can  affirm  such  a  thing.  But  the  Saviour  had 
publicly  transgressed  that  tradition  of  the  Phar- 
isees that  forbade  the  doing  of  anything  whatever 
toward  the  healing  of  the  sick  upon  the  Sabbath. 
And  how  necessary  that  such  a  wicked  tradition 
should  be  swept  away,  if  the  Sabbath  itself  was 

J  Matt.  12  : 0-14  ;  Mark  n  :  1-0  ;  Luke  0  :  fill. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  125 

to  be  preserved  for  man.  But  the  Pharisees  were 
filled  with  such  madness  that  they  went  out  of 
the  synagogue  and  consulted  how  they  might 
destroy  the  Saviour.  Yet  Jesus  only  acted  in 
behalf  of  the  Sabbath  in  setting  aside  those  tra- 
ditions by  which  they  had  perverted  it. 

After  this,  our  Lord  returned  into  his  own 
country,  and  thus  we  read  of  him  : — 

' '  And  when  the  Sabbath  day  was  come,  he  began  to 
teach  in  the  synagogue  ;  and  many  hearing  him  were  as- 
tonished, saying,  From  whence  hath  this  man  these 
things  ?  and  what  wisdom  is  this  which  is  given  unto  him, 
that  even  such  mighty  works  are  wrought  by  his  hands  ]  "  ^ 

Not  far  from  this  time  we  find  the  Saviour  at 
Jerusalem,  and  the  following  miracle  was  per- 
formed upon  the  Sabbath  : — 

'^  And  a  certain  man  was  there  which  had  an  infirmity 
thirty  and  eight  years.  When  Jesus  saw  him  lie,  and 
knew  that  he  had  been  there  now  a  long  time  in  that  case, 
he  saith  unto  him.  Wilt  thou  be  made  whole  ?  The  impo- 
tent man  answered  him.  Sir,  I  have  no  man,  when  the 
water  is  troubled,  to  put  me  into  the  pool  ;  but  while  I 
am  coming,  another  steppeth  down  before  me,  Jesus  saith 
unto  him,  Rise,  take  up  thy  bed,  and  vralk.  And  imme- 
diately the  man  was  made  whole,  and  took  up  his  bed 
and  Avalked  ;  and  on  the  same  day  was  the  Sabbath.  The 
Jews  therefore  said  unto  him  that  was  cured.  It  is  the 
Sabbath  day  :  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  carry  thy  bed. 
He  answered  them.  He  that  made  me  whole,  the  same 
said  unto  me.  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk.  Then  asked 
they  him.  What  man  is  that  which  said  unto  thee,  Take 
up  thy  bed,  and  walk  ?  .  .  .  The  man  departed  and 
told  the  Jews  that  it  was  Jesus,  which  had  made  him 
whole.  And  therefore  did  the  Jews  persecute  Jesus,  and 
sought  to  slay  him,  because  he  had  done  these  things  on 
the  Sabbath  dsij.  But  Jesus  answered  them.  My  Father 
worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work.  Therefore  the  Jews  sought 
the  more  to  kill  him,  because  he  not  only  had  broken  the 

1  Mark  6  : 1-G. 


126  HisTOiiY  or  THE  sabbath. 

Sabbath,  but  said  also  tliat  God  was  liis  Father,  making 
himself  equal  with  God."  ^ 

Our  Lord  here  stands  charged  with  two  crimes: 
1.  He  had  broiicn  the  Sabbath.  2.  He  had  made 
himself  equal  with  God.  The  first  accusation  is 
based  on  these  particulars :  (1)  By  his  word  he 
had  healed  the  impotent  man.  But  this  violated 
no  law  of  God ;  it  only  set  at  naught  that  tradi- 
tion which  forbade  anything  to  be  done  for  curing 
diseases  upon  the  Sabbath.  (2)  He  had  directed 
the  man  to  carry  his  bed.  But  this  as  a  burden 
was  a  mere  trifle,^  like  a  cloak  or  mat,  and  was 
designed  to  show  the  reality  of  his  cure,  and  thus 
to  honor  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  who  had  healed 
him.  Moreover,  it  was  not  such  a  burden  as  the 
Scriptures  forbid  upon  the  Sabbath.^  (3)  Jesus 
justified  what  he  had  done  by  comparing  his 
present  act  of  healing  to  that  work  which  his 
Father  had  done  hitherto,  i.  c,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  creation.  Ever  since  the  Sabbath  was 
sanctified  in  paradise,  the  Father,  by  his  provi- 
dence, had  continued  to  mankind,  even  upon  the 
Sabbath,  all  the  merciful  acts  by  which  the  human 
race  has  been  preserved.  This  v/ork  of  the  Fa- 
ther was  of  precisely  the  same  nature  as  that 
which  Jesus  had  now  done.  These  acts  did  not 
argue  that  the  Father  had  hitherto  lightly  es- 
teemed the  Sabbath,  for  he  had  most  solemnly 
enjoined  its  observance  in  the  law  and  in  the 
prophets  ;'^  a.nd  as  our  Lord  had  most  expressly 
recognized  their  authority,^  there  was  no  ground 

iJohn  5:1-18.  2  Dr.  Bloomtield's  Greek 

Testament  on  this  text;  family  Testament  of  the  American  Tract 
Society  on  the  same;  Nevins'  Biblical  Antiquities,  pp.  02,  63. 

3  Compare  Jer.  17  :  21-27  with  Nehcmiah  13  :  15-20. 

4  Gen.  2:1-3;  Ex.  20  :  8-11 ;  Isa.  56 ;  53  :  13,  14  ;  Eze.  20. 
'Gal.  4:4;  Matt.  5  :  17-1'J  ;  7  :  12  ;  H>  :  17  ;  I.nko  10  :  17. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVEJiTY   WEEKS.  127 

to  accuse  him  of  disregarding  the  Sabbath,  when 
he  had  only  followed  the  example  of  the  Father 
from  the  beginning.  The  Saviour's  answer  to 
these  two  charges  will  remove  all  difficulty : — 

''Then  answered.  Jesiis  and  said  nnto  them,  Yerily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  Son  can  do  nothing  of  him- 
self, but  what  he  seeth  the  Father  do  ;  for  what  things 
soever  he  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son  likewise."^ 

This  answer  involves  two  points:  1.  That  he 
was  following  his  Father's  perfect  example,  who 
had  ever  laid  open  to  him  all  his  works;  and 
hence  as  he  was  doing  that  only  which  had  ever 
been  the  pleasure  of  the  Father  to  do,  he  was  not 
engaged  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Sabbath.  2.  And 
by  the  meek  humility  of  this  answer — "  The  Son 
can  do  nothing  of  himself,  but  what  he  seeth  the 
Father  do" — he  showed  the  groundlessness  of 
their  charge  of  self- exaltation.  Thus,  in  nothing 
was  there  left  a  chance  to  answer  him  again. 

Several  months  after  this,  the  same  case  of 
healing  was  under  discussion : 

"  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  I  have  done  one 
work,  and  ye  all  marvel.  Moses  therefore  gave  unto  you 
circumcision  ('not  because  it  is  of  Moses,  but  of  the 
fathers);  and  ye  on  the  Sabbath-day  circumcise  a  man. 
If  a  man  on  the  Sabbath  day  receive  circumcision,  that  the 
law  of  Moses  should  not  be  broken  ;  are  ye  angry  at  me, 
because  I  have  made  a  man  every  whit  whole  on  the  Sab- 
bath day?"  ^^ 

This  Scripture  contains  our  Lord's  second  an- 
swer relative  to  healing  the  impotent  man  upon 
the  Sabbath.  In  his  first  answer  he  rested  his 
defense  upon  the  fact  that  what  he  had  done  was 
precisely  the  same  as  that  which  his  Father  had 
done  hitherto,  that  is,  from  the  beginning  of  the 

iJohn  5  :19.  s  John  7  :  21-23. 


128  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

world ;  which  implies  that  the  Sabbath  had  ex- 
isted from  the  same  point,  else  the  example  of 
the  Father  during  this  time  would  not  be  relevant. 
In  this,  his  second  answer,  a  similar  point  is  in- 
volved relative  to  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath.  His 
defense  this  time  rests  upon  the  fact  that  his  act 
of  healing  no  more  violated  the  Sabbath  than  did 
the  act  of  circumcising  upon  the  Sabbath.  But 
if  circumcision,  which  was  ordained  in  the  time  of 
Abraham,  was  older  than  the  Sabbath — as  it  cer- 
tainly was  if  the  Sabbath  originated  in  the  wil- 
derness of  Sin — there  would  be  an  impropriety 
in  the  allusion;  for  circumcision  would  be  en- 
titled to  the  priority  as  the  more  ancient  institu- 
tion. It  would  be  strictly  proper  to  speak  of  the 
more  recent  institution  as  involving  no  violation 
of  an  older  one ;  but  it  would  be  otherwise  to 
speak  of  an  ancient  institution  as  involving  no 
violation  of  one  more  recent.  The  language  there- 
fore implies  that  the  Sabbath  was  older  than  cir- 
cumcision ;  in  other  words,  more  ancient  than  the 
days  of  Abraham.  These  two  answers  of  the 
Saviour  are  certainly  in  harmony  with  the  unan- 
imous testimony  of  the  sacred  writers,  that  the 
Sabbath  originated  with  the  sanctification  of  the 
rest-day  of  the  Lord  in  Eden. 

What  had  the  Saviour  done  to  justify  the 
hatred  of  the  Jewish  people  toward  him  ?  He 
had  healed  upon  the  Sabbath,  with  one  word,  a 
man  who  had  been  helpless  thirty-eight  j^ears. 
Was  not  this  act  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
Sabbatic  institution  ?  Our  Lord  has  settled  this 
point  in  the  affirmative  by  weighty  and  unan- 
swerable arguments,^  not  in  this  case  alone,  but 

^Grotius  well  says:  "If  he  healed  any  on  the  Sabbath  he  made 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  129 

in  others  already  noticed,  and  also  in  those  which 
remain  to  be  noticed.  Had  he  left  the  man  in 
his  wretchedness  because  it  was  the  Sabbath, 
when  a  word  would  have  healed  him,  he  would 
have  dishonored  the  Sabbath,  and  thrown  re- 
proach upon  its  Author.  We  shall  find  the  Lord 
of  the  Sabbath  still  further  at  work  in  its  behalf 
in  rescuing  it  from  the  hands  of  those  who  had 
so  utterly  perverted  its  design;  a  work  quite 
unnecessary,  had  he  designed  to  nail  the  institu- 
tion to  his  cross. 

The  next  incident  to  be  noticed  is  the  case  of 
the  man  that  was  born  blind.  Jesus  seeing  him 
said : — 

"I  must  work  the  works  of  him  that  sent  me  whilst  it 
is  day  ;  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work.  As 
long  as  I  am  in  the  world,  I  am  the  light  of  the  vrorld. 
When  he  had  thus  spoken  he  spat  on  the  ground,  and 
made  clay  of  the  spittle,  and  he  anointed  the  eyes  of  the 
blind  man  with  the  clay,  and  said  unto  him,  Go  wash  in 
the  pool  of  Siloam  (which  is  by  interpretation,  Sent). 
He  went  his  way  therefore,  and  washed,  and  came  seeing. 

And  it  was  the  Sabbath  day  when  Jesus  made 

the  clay  and  opened  his  eyes."  ^ 

Here  is  the  record  of  another  of  our  Lord's 
merciful  acts  upon  the  Sabbath  day.  He  saw  a 
man  blind  from  his  birth ;  moved  with  compassion 
toward  him,  he  moistened  clay  and  anointed  his 
eyes,  and  sent  him  to  the  pool  to  wash  ;  and  when 
he  had  washed  he  received  sight.  The  act  was 
alike  worthy  of  the  Sabbath  and  of  its  Lord :  and 
it  pertains  only  to  the  opponents  of  the  Sabbath 
noiv,  as  it  pertained  only  to  the  enemies  of  its 

it  appear,  not  only  from  the  law,  but  also  from  their  received 
opinions,  that  such  works  were  not  forbidden  on  the  Sabbath." — 
The  Truth  of  the  Christian  Eeligion,  b.  v.  sect.  7. 
1  John  9  : 1-16. 


130  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Lord  then,  to  see  in  this  even  the  slightest  viola- 
tion of  the  Sabbath. 

After  this  we  read  as  follows  : — 

"And  he  was  teaching  in  one  of  the  synagogues  on  the 
Sabbath.  And  behold  there  was  a  woman  which  had  a 
spirit  of  infirmity  eighteen  years,  and  was  bo\yed  to- 
gether, and  conld  in  no  wise  Uft  up  herself.  And  when 
Jesus  saw  her,  he  called  her  to  him,  and  said  unto  her, 
Woman,  thou  art  loosed  from  thine  infirmity.  And  he 
laid  his  hands  on  her  ;  and  immediately  she  was  made 
straight,  and  glorified  God.  And  the  ruler  of  the  syna- 
gogue answered  with  indignation,  because  that  Jesus  had 
healed  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  said  unto  the  people, 
There  are  six  days  in  which  men  ought  to  work :  in  them 
therefore  come  and  be  healed,  and  not  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
The  Lord  then  answered  him  and  said,  Thou  hypocrite, 
doth  not  each  one  of  you  on  the  Sabbath  loose  his  ox  or 
his  ass  from  the  stall,  and  lead  him  away  to  watering  \ 
And  ought  not  this  woman,  being  a  daughter  of  Abraham, 
whom  Satan  hath  bound,  lo,  these  eighteen  years,  be 
loosed  from  this  bond  on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  And  when 
he  had  said  these  things,  all  his  adversaries  were  ashamed  : 
and  all  the  people  rejoiced  for  all  the  glorious  things  that 
were  done  by  him."^ 

This  time  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  that  is,  a 
pious  woman, ^  who  had  been  bound  by  Satan 
eighteen  years,  was  loosed  from  that  bond  upon 
the  Sabbath  day.  Jesus  silenced  the  clamor  of 
his  enemies  by  an  appeal  to  their  own  course  of 
action  in  loosing  the  ox  and  leading  him  to  water 
upon  the  Sabbath.  With  this  answer  our  Lord 
made  ashamed  all  his  adversaries,  and  all  the 
people  rejoiced  for  all  the  glorious  things  that 
were  done  by  him.  The  last  of  these  glorious 
acts  with  which  Jesus  honored  the  Sabbath  is 
thus  narrated  : —    , 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  as  he  went  into  the  house  of  one 

iLulic  l-",  :  10-17.  n  Pet.  3:0. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  131 

of  tiie  chief  Pharisees  to  eat  bread  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
that  they  watched  him.  And,  behold,  there  was  a  certain 
man  before  him  which  had  the  dropsy.  And  Jesiis  an  swer- 
ing  spake  unto  the  lawyers  and  Pharisees,  saying,  Is  it  law- 
ful to  heal  on  the  Sabbath  day  1  And  they  held  their  peace. 
And  he  took  him,  and  healed  him,  and  let  him  go  ;  and 
answered  them,  saying.  Which  of  you  shall  have  an  ass  or 
an  ox  fallen  into  a  pit,  and  will  not  straightway  pull  him 
out  on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  And  they  could  not  answer 
him  again  to  these  things."  ^ 

Ifc  is  evident  that  the  Pharisees  and  lawyers 
durst  not  answer  the  question,  Is  it  lawful  to  heal 
on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  If  they  said,  ''  Yes,"  they 
condemned  their  own  tradition.  If  they  said, 
"  No,"  they  were  unable  to  sustain  their  ansv/er 
by  fair  argument.  Hence  they  remained  silent. 
And  when  Jesus  had  healed  the  man,  he  asked  a 
second  question  equally  embarrassing :  Which  of 
you  shall  have  an  ox  fall  into  a  pit  and  will  not 
straightway  pull  him  out  on  the  Sabbath  ?  They 
could  not  answer  him  again  to  these  things.  It 
is  apparent  that  our  Lord's  argument  with  the 
Pharisees  from  time  to  time  relative  to  the  Sab- 
bath had  satisfied  them  at  last  that  silence  rela- 
tive to  their  traditions  v/as  wiser  than  speech. 
In  his  public  teaching  the  Saviour  declared  that 
the  weightier  matters  of  the  law  w^ere  judgment, 
MERCY,  and  faith ;  ^  and  his  long- continued  and 
powerful  effort  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath,  was  to 
vindicate  it  as  a  merciful  institution,  and  to  rid 
it  of  Pharisaic  traditions,  by  which  it  was  per- 
verted from  its  original  purpose.  Those  v/ho 
oppose  the  Sabbath  are  here  guilty  of  unfairness 
in  two  particulars :  1.  They  represent  these 
Pharisaic  rigors  as  actually  belonging  to  the 
Sabbatic  institution.     By  this  means  they  turn 

U.nkel4:l-6.  2  Matt.  23  :  23. 


132  IIISTOKY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  minds  of  men  against  the  Sabbath.  2.  And 
having  done  this  they  represent  tlie  effort  of  the 
Saviour  to  set  aside  those  traditions  as  directed 
to  the  overthrow  of  the  Sabbath  itself. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  Saviour  s  memorable 
discourse  upon  the  mount  of  Olives,  on  the  very 
eve  of  his  crucifixion,  in  which  for  the  last  time 
he  mentions  the  Sabbath  : — 

' '  When  ye  therefore  shall  see  the  abomination  of  deso- 
lation, spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  the 
holy  place  (whoso  readeth,  let  him  understand),  then  let 
them  which  be  in  Judea  flee  into  the  mountains :  let  him 
which  is  on  the  house-top  not  come  down  to  take  any- 
thing out  of  his  house  ;  neither  let  him  which  is  in  the 
field  return  back  to  take  his  clothes.  And  woe  unto  them 
that  are  with  child,  and  to  them  that  give  suck  in  those 
days !  But  pray  ye  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter, 
neither  on  the  Sabbath  day ;  for  then  shall  be  great  trib- 
ulation, such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning  of  the  world 
to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be."  ^ 

In  this  language  our  Lord  brings  to  view  the 
dreadful  calamities  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  the 
destruction  of  their  city  and  temple  as  predicted 
by  Daniel  the  prophet;"  and  his  watchful  care  over 
his  people  as  their  Lord  leads  him  to  point  out 
their  means  of  escape. 

1.  He  gives  them  a  token  by  which  they  should 
know  w^hen  this  terrible  overthrow  was  immedi- 
ately impending.  It  was  "  the  abomination  of 
desolation"  standing  "in  the  holy  place;"  or,  as 
expressed  by  Luke,  the  token  was  "Jerusalem 
compassed  with  armies."  ^  The  fulfillment  of  this 
sign  is  recorded  by  the  historian  Josephus.  After 
stating  that  Cestius,  the  Roman  commander,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  contest  between  the 

1  Matt.  24  :  15-21.  2  iJan.  9  :  26,  27.  » L„ke  21  :  20. 


LAST    OF   THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  133 

Jews  and  the  Romans,  encompassed  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  with  an  army,  he  adds : — 

''  Who,  had  he  but  continued  the  siege  a  little  longer, 
had  certainly  taken  the  city  ;  but  it  was,  I  suppose, 
owing  to  the  aversion  God  had  already  at  the  city  and 
the  sanctuary,  that  he  was  hindered  from  putting  an  end 
to  the  war  that  very  day.  It  then  happened  that  Cestius 
was  not  conscious  either  how  the  besieged  despaired  of 
success,  nor  how  courageous  the  people  were  for  him  ; 
and  so  he  recalled  his  soldiers  from  the  place,  and  by 
despairing  of  any  expectation  of  taking  it,  without  having 
received  any  disgrace,  he  retired  from  the  city,  without 
any  reason  in  the  world.  "^ 

2.  This  sign  being  seen,  the  disciples  were  to 
know  that  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem  was  nigh. 
"  Then,"  says  Christ,  "  let  them  which  be  in  Judea 
flee  into  the  mountains."  Josephus  records  the 
fulfillment  of  this  injunction : — 

"After  this  calamity  had  befallen  Cestius,  many  of  the 
most  eminent  of  the  Jews  swam  away  from  the  city,  as 
from  a  ship  when  it  was  going  to  sink."  ^ 

Eusebius  also  relates  its  fulfillment : — 

''The  whole  body,  however,  of  the  church  at  Jerusa- 
lem, having  been  commanded  by  a  divine  revelation, 
given  to  men  of  approved  piety  there  before  the  war,  re- 
moved from  the  city,  and  dwelt  at  a  certain  town  beyond 
the  Jordan,  called  Pella.  Here,  those  that  believed  in 
Christ,  having  removed  from  Jerusalem,  as  if  holy  men 
had  entirely  abandoned  the  royal  city  itself,  and  the 
whole  land  of  Judea ;  the  divine  justice  for  their  crimes 
against  Christ  and  his  apostles,  finally  overtook  them, 
totally  destroying  the  whole  generation  of  these  evil-doers 
from  the  earth."  ^ 

3.  So  imminent  was  the  danger  when  this  sign 
should  be  seen  that  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost. 

1  Jewish  Wars,  b.  ii.  chap.  xix.  ^  id.  b.  ii.  chap.  xx. 

^Eccl.  Hist.  b.  iii.  chap.  v. 


134  HISTORY    OF    THK    .SAI}15ATI[. 

He  that  was  upon  the  housetop  could  not  even 
come  down  to  take  a  single  article  from  his  house. 
The  man  that  was  in  the  field  was  forbidden  to 
return  to  the  house  for  his  clothes.  Not  a  mo- 
ment was  to  be  lost ;  they  must  flee  as  they  were, 
and  flee  for  life.  And  pitiable  indeed  was  the 
case  of  those  who  could  not  flee. 

4.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  disciples  must 
flee  the  moment  that  the  promised  token  should 
appear,  our  Lord  directed  them  to  pray  for  two 
things:  1.  That  their  flight  should  not  be  in  the 
winter.  2.  That  it  should  not  be  upon  the  Sab- 
bath day.  Their  pitiable  situation  should  they 
be  compelled  to  flee  to  the  mountains  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  without  time  to  even  take  their 
clothes,  sufiiciently  attests  the  importance  of  the 
first  of  these  petitions,  and  the  tender  care  of  Je- 
sus as  the  Lord  of  his  people.  The  second  of 
these  petitions  will  be  found  equally  expressive 
of  his  care  as  Lord  of  the  Sabbath. 

5.  But  it  is  replied  that  this  last  petition  has 
reference  only  to  the  fact  that  the  Jews  would 
then  be  keeping  the  Sabbath  strictly,  and  as  a 
consequence  the  city  ga.tes  would  be  closed  that 
day,  and  those  be  punished  with  death  who 
should  attempt  to  flee ;  and  hence  this  petition 
indicates  nothing  in  proof  of  Christ's  regard  for 
the  Sabbath.  An  assertion  so  often  and  so  con- 
fidently uttered  should  be  well  founded  in  truth  ; 
yet  a  brief  examination  will  show  that  such  is  not 
the  case.  1.  The  Saviour's  language  has  reference 
to  the  whole  land  of  Judea,  and  not  to  Jerusalem 
only :  "  Let  tliem  which  be  in  Judea  flee  into  the 
mountains."  The  closing  of  the  city  gates  could 
not  therefore  aflect  the  flight  of  but  a  part  of  the 
disciples.     2.    Josephus    states    the   remarkable 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  135 

fact  that  when  Cestius  was  marching  upon  Jeru- 
salem in  fulfillment  of  the  Saviour's  token,  and 
had  reached  Lydrla,  not  many  miles  from  Jerusa- 
lem, "  he  found  the  city  empty  of  its  men ;  for  the 
whole  multitude  were  gone  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the 
feast  of  tabernacles."^  The  law  of  Moses  re- 
quired the  presence  of  every  male  in  Israel  at  this 
feast  in  Jerusalem ;  -  and  thus,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  the  disciples  had  no  Jewish  enemies  left 
in  the  country  to  hinder  their  flight.  3.  The 
Jewish  nation  being  thus  assembled  at  Jerusalem 
did  most  openly  violate  the  Sabbath  a  few  days 
prior  to  the  flight  of  the  disciples ;  a  singular 
commentary  on  their  supposed  strictness  in  keep- 
ing it  at  that  time.  ^  Thus  Josephus  says  of  the 
march  of  Cestius  upon  Jerusalem  that, 

1  Jewish  Wars,  b.  ii.  chap.  xix.  -  Deut.  16  :  16. 

3  Thus  remarks  Mr.  Crozier  in  the  Advent  Harbinger  for  Dec. 
6,  1851  :  "The  reference  to  the  Sabbath  in  Matt.  24  :20,  only 
shows  that  the  Jews  who  rejected  Christ  would  be  keeping  the 
Sabbath  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  would,  in  conse- 
quence, add  to  the  dangers  of  the  disciules'  flight  by  punishing 
them  perhaps  with  death  for  fleeing  on  that  day." 

And  Mr.  Marsh,  forgetting  that  Christ  forbade  his  disciples  to 
take  anything  with  them  in  their  flight,  uses  the  following  lan- 
guage :  "  If  the  disciples  should  attempt  to  flee  from  Jerusalem 
on  that  day  and  carry  their  thin^is,  the  Jews  would  embarrass 
their  flight  and  perhaps  put  them  to  death.  The  Jews  would  be 
keeping  the  Sabbath,  because  they  rejected  Christ  and  his  gos- 
pel."— Advent  Harbinger,  Jan.  24,  1852.  These  quotations  betray 
the  bitterness  of  their  authors.  In  honorable  distinction  from  these 
anti-Sabbatarians,  the  following  is  quoted  from  Mr.  William  Mil- 
ler, himself  an  observer  of  the  first  day  of  the  week: — 

*'  'Neither  on  the  Sabbath  day.'  Because  it  was  to  be  kept  as 
a  day  of  rest,  and  no  servile  work  was  to  be  done  on  that  day, 
nor  would  it  be  right  for  them  to  travel  on  that  day.  Christ  has 
in  this  place  sanctioned  the  Sabbath,  and  clearly  shows  us  our 
duty  to  let  no  trivial  circumstance  cause  us  to  break  the  law  of 
the  Sabbath.  Yet  how  many  who  profess  to  believe  in  Christ,  at 
this  present  day,  make  it  a  point  to  visit,  travel,  and  feast,  on  this 
day?  What  a  false-hearted  profession  must  that  person  make 
who  can  thus  treat  with  contempt  the  moral  law  of  God,  and  de- 
spise the  precepts  of  the  Lord  Jesus  !  We  may  here  learn  our 
obligation  to  remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy."— Ex- 
position of  Matt.  24,  p.  18. 


136  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

' '  He  pitched  his  camp  at  a  certain  place  called  Gabao, 
fifty  furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem.  But  as  for  the 
Jews,  when  they  saw  the  war  approaching  to  their  me- 
tropoUs,  they  left  the  feast,  and  betook  themselves  to 
their  arms  ;  and  taking  courage  greatly  from  their  multi- 
tude, went  in  a  sudden  and  disorderly  manner  to  the 
fight,  with  a  great  noise,  and  without  any  consideration 
had  of  the  rest  of  the  seventh  day,  although  the  Sabbath 
was  the  day  to  which  they  had  the  greatest  regard  ;  but 
that  rage  which  made  them  forget  the  religious  observa- 
tion [of  the  Sabbath]  made  them  too  hard  for  their  ene- 
mies in  the  fight ;  with  such  violence  therefore  did  they 
fall  upon  the  Romans,  as  to  break  into  their  ranks,  and 
to  march  through  the  midst  of  them,  making  a  great 
slaughter  as  they  went,"  ^  etc. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  on  the  eve  of  the  disciples' 
flight  the  rage  of  the  Jews  toward  their  enemies 
made  them  utterly  disregard  the  Sabbath !  4. 
But  after  Cestius  encompassed  the  city  with  his 
army,  thus  giving  the  Saviour's  signal,  he  sud- 
denly withdrew  it,  as  Josephus  says,  "without 
any  reason  in  the  world."  This  was  the  moment 
of  flight  for  the  disciples,  and  mark  how  the  prov- 
idence of  God  opened  the  way  for  those  in  Jeru- 
salem : — 

* '  But  when  the  robbers  perceived  this  unexpected  re- 
treat of  his,  they  resumed  their  courage,  and  ran  after  the 
hinder  parts  of  his  army,  and  destroyed  a  considerable 
number  of  both  their  horsemen  and  footmen  :  and  now 
Cestius  lay  all  night  at  the  camp  which  was  at  Scopus, 
and  as  he  went  off  farther  next  day,  he  thereby  invited  the 
enemy  to  follow  him,  who  still  fell  upon  the  hindmost 
and  destroyed  them."* 

This  sally  of  the  excited  multitude  in  pursuit 
of  the  Romans  was  at  the  very  moment  when  the 
disciples  were  commanded  to  flee,  and  could  not 
but  afford  them   the  needed  facility  of  escape. 


1  .Jewish  W.ir.<5,  b.  ii.  choj).  >;ix.  -Id.  h.  ii.  rhaj).  \ix. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  137 

Had  the  flight  of  Cestius  happened  upon  the 
Sabbath,  undoubtedly  the  Jews  would  have  pur- 
sued liim  upon  that  day,  as  under  less  exciting 
circumstances  they  had  a  few  days  before  gone 
out  several  miles  to  attack  him  upon  the  Sabbath. 
It  is  seen,  therefore,  that  whether  in  city  or  coun- 
try, the  disciples  were  not  in  danger  of  being  at- 
tacked by  their  enemies,  even  had  their  flight 
been  upon  the  Sabbath  day. 

().  There  is  therefore  but  one  view  that  can 
be  taken  relative  to  the  meaning  of  these  words 
of  our  Lord,  and  that  is  that  he  thus  spake,  out 
of  sacred  regard  for  the  Sabbath.  For  in  his  ten- 
der care  for  his  people  he  had  given  them  a  pre- 
cept that  would  require  them  to  violate  the  Sab- 
bath, should  the  moment  for  flight  happen  upon 
that  day.  For  the  command  to  flee  was  impera- 
tive the  instant  the  promised  signal  should  be 
seen,  and  the  distance  to  Pella,  where  they  found 
a  place  of  refuge,  was  at  least  sixty  miles.  This 
prayer  which  the  Saviour  left  with  the  disciples 
would  cause  them  to  remember  the  Sabbath  when- 
ever they  should  come  before  God.  It  was  there- 
fore impossible  that  the  apostolic  church  should 
forget  the  day  of  sacred  rest.  Such  a  prayer,  that 
they  might  not  at  a  future  time  be  compelled  to 
violate  the  Sabbath,  was  a  sure  and  certain  means 
of  perpetuating  its  sacred  observance  for  the 
coming  forty  years,  until  the  final  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  and  was  never  forgotten  by  that  early 
church,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see.  ^  The  Saviour, 
who  had  taken  unwearied  pains  during  his  whole 
ministry  to  show  that  the  Sabbath  was  a  merci- 
ful institution  and  to  set  aside  those  traditions 

1  See  chap.  xvi. 


138  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAnBATII. 

by  whicli  it  Lad  been  perverted  from  its  true  de- 
sign, did,  in  this  his  last  discourse,  most  tenderly 
commend  the  Sabbath  to  his  people,  uniting  in 
the  same  petition  their  own  safety  and  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  rest-day  of  the  Lord/ 

A  few  days  after  this  discourse,  the  Lord  of  the 
Sabbath  was  nailed  to  the  cross  as  the  great  sac- 
rifice for  the  sins  of  men.^  The  Messiah  was  thus 
cut  off  in  the  midst  of  the  seventieth  week ;  and 
by  his  death  ho  caused  the  sacrifice  and  oblation 
to  cease.  ^ 

Paul  thus  describes  the  aln-ogation  of  the  typ- 
ical system  at  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  : — 

"Blotting  out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that  was 
against  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us,  and  took  it  out  of  the 
way,  nailing  it  to  his  cross Let  no  man  there- 
fore judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an 
holy  day,  or  of  the  nev.^  moon,  or  of  the  sabbath  days  ; 
Avhich  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come  ;  but  the  body  is 
of  Christ.'"' 

The  object  of  tliis  action  is  declared  to  be  the 
handwriting  of  ordinances.  The  manner  of  its 
abrogation  is  thus  stated:  1.  Blotted  out;  2. 
Nailed  to  the  cross;  3.  Taken  out  of  the  way. 
Its  nature  is  shown  in  these  words  :  "  Against  us  " 
and  "  contrary  to  us."     The  things  contained  in 

1  President  Edwards  says  :  "A  further  argument  for  the  per- 
petuity of  the  Sabbath  vve  have  in  Matt.  24  :  20  :  '  Pray  ve  that 
your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  neithrr  on  the  Sabbath  day.' 
Christ  is  here  speaking  of  tlie  flight  of  the  apostles  and  other 
Christians  out  of  Jerusalem  and  Judoa,  just  before  their  final 
destruction,  as  is  manifest  by  the  whole  context,  and  especially 
by  the  IGth  verse  :  '  Then  let  them  whicli  be  in  Judea  flee  into  the 
mountains.'  But  this  final  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  after  the 
dissolution  of  the  Jewish  constitution,  and  after  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation was  fully  set  up.  Yet  it  is  plainly  implied  in  these 
words  of  our  Lord,  that  even  then  Christians  were  bound  to  a 
strict  observation  of  the  Sabbath." —  Workfi  of  President  Edioards, 
vol.  iv.  i>p.  G21,  622,  New  York,  184i). 

'-'  Matt.  27  :   Isa.  M.  ^  Dan.  1'  :  21-27.  '  Col.  2  :  1417. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  139 

it  were  meats,  drinks,  holy  clays  [Gr.  toprr/q  a  feast 
day],  new  moons  and  sabbaths.^  The  whole  is 
declared  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come  ;  and 
the  body  which  casts  this  shadow  is  of  Christ. 
That  law  which  was  proclaimed  by  the  voice  of 
God  and  written  by  his  own  finger  upon  the  ta- 
bles of  stone,  and  deposited  beneath  the  mercy- 
seat,  was  altogether  unlike  that  system  of  carnal 
ordinances  that  was  ^Titten  by  Moses  in  a  book, 
and  placed  in  the  side  of  the  ark.^  It  would 
be  absurd  to  speak  of  the  tables  of  stone 
as  NAILED  to  the  cross ;  or  to  speak  of  blotting 
out  what  was  engraved  in  stone.  It  would  be 
blasphemous  to  represent  the  Son  of  God  as  pour- 
ino^  out  his  blood  to  blot  out  what  the  finsrer  of 
his  Father  had  written.  It  would  be  to  confound 
all  the  immutable  principles  of  morality,  to  rep- 
resent the  ten  commandments  as  "  contrary "  to 
man's  moral  nature.  It  would  be  to  make  Christ 
the  minister  of  sin,  to  represent  him  as  dying  to 
utterly  destroy  the  moral  law.  Nor  does  that 
man  keep  truth  on  his  side  who  represents  the 
ten  commandments  as  among  the  things  contained 
in  Paul's  enumeration  of  what  was  abolished. 
Nor  is  there  any  excuse  for  those  who  would  de- 
stroy the  ten  commandments  with  this  statement 
of  Paul ;  for  he  shows,  last  of  al>,  that  what  was 
thus  abrogated  was  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come — an  absurdity  if  applied  to  the  moral  law. 

1  For  an  extended  view  of  these  Jewish  festivals  see  chapter  vii. 

2Deut.  10:4,  5,  compared  with  31  :  24-23.  Thus  Morer  con- 
trasts the  phrase  "in  the  ark,"  which  is  used  with  reference  to 
the  two  tables,  with  the  expression  "in  the  side  of  the  ark,"  as 
used  respecting  the  book  of  the  law,  and  says  of  the  latter  :  "  In 
the  side  of  the  ark,  or  more  critically,  in  the  outside  of  the  ark; 
or  in  a  chest  by  itself  on  the  right  side  of  the  ark,  saith  the  Tar- 
gum  of  Jonathan." — Mover's  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Daxj,  p.  211, 
London,  1701. 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAEBATH. 

The  feasts,  new  moons,  and  sabbaths,  of  the  cere- 
monial law,  which  Paul  declared  to  be  abolished 
in  consequence  of  the  abrogation  of  that  code, 
have  been  particularly  noticed  already/  That 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  is  not  included  in  their 
number,  the  following  facts  evince : — 

1.  The  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was  made  before 
sin  entered  our  world.  It  is  not  therefore  one  of 
those  things  that  shadow  redemption  from  sin.^ 

2.  Being  made  for  man  before  the  fall  it  is 
not  one  of  those  things  that  are  against  him  and 

CONTRARY  to  him.^ 

3.  When  the  ceremonial  sabbaths  were  ordain- 
ed they  were  carefully  distinguished  from  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord.* 

4.  The  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  does  not  OAve  its 
existence  to  the  handwriting  of  ordinances,  but  is 
found  in  the  very  bosom  of  that  law  which  Jesus 
came  not  to  destroy.  The  abrogation  of  the  cer- 
emonial law  could  Jiot  therefore  abolish  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  fourth  commandment.^ 

5.  The  effort  of  our  Lord  through  his  whole 
ministry  to  redeem  the  Sabbath  from  the  thrall- 
dom  of  the  Jewish  doctors,  and  to  vindicate  it  as 
a  merciful  institution,  is  utterly  inconsistent  with 
tlie  idea  that  he  nailed  it  to  his  cross,  as  one  of 
those  things  against  man  and  contrary  to  him. 

6.  Our  Lord's  petition  respecting  the  flight  of 
the  disciples  from  Judea,  recognizes  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  Sabbath  many  years  after  the  cruci- 
fixion of  the  Saviour. 

7.  The  perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  new 
earth  is  not  easily  reconciled  with  the  idea  that 

iSee  chap.  vii.  -Sec  chap.  ii.  ^Mark  2  :  27. 

'  \a'v.  'j:]  :  '■);,  Cs.  •'  Cell,  li  :  1  G  ;   Kx.  'JO  ;  Mad.  o  :  17.  V.>. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  141 

it  was  blotted  out  and  nailed  to  our  Lord's  cross 
as  one  of  those  tilings  that  were  contrary  to 
man.  ^ 

8.  Because  the  authority  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment is  expressly  recognized  after  the  Sav- 
iour's crucifixion.  ^ 

9.  And  finally,  because  the  royal  law  which  is 
unabolished  embodies  the  ten  commandments, 
and  consequently  embraces  and  enforces  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord.  ^ 

When  the  SaviQur  died  upon  the  cross  the 
whole  typical  system  which  had  pointed  forv/ard 
to  that  event  as  the  commencement  of  its  an- 
titype, expired  with  him.  The  Saviour  being 
dead,  Jose])h  of  Arimathea  went  in  unto  Pilate 
and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus,  and  with  the  as- 
sistance of  Nicodemus,  buried  it  in  his  own  new 
tomb.  ^ 

"And  that  day  was  tlie  preparation,  and  the  Sabbath 
drew  on.  And  the  women  also,  which  came  with  him  from 
Galilee,  followed  after,  and  beheld  the  sepulcher,  and  how 
his  body  was  laid.  And  they  returned,  and  prepared 
spices  and  ointments  ;  and  rested  the  Sabbath  day  accord- 
ing to  the  commandment.  Now  upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  very  early  in  the  morning,  they  came  unto  the 
sepulcher,  bringing  the  spices  which  they  had  prepared, 
and  certain  others  with  them."  ^ 

This  text  is  worthy  of  special  attention.  1. 
Because  it  is  an  express  recognition  of  the  fourth 
commandment  after  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  2.  Because  it  is  the  most  remarkable  case 
of  Sabbatic  observance  in  the  v/hole  Bible.     The 

1  Isa.  66  :  22,  23.     See  also  the  close  of  chap,  xix  of  this  work. 

2  Luke  23  :  54-56. 

3  James  2  :  8-12  ;  Matt.  5  :  17-19  ;  Rom.  3  :  19,  31. 

4  Heb.  9  ;  10 ;  Luke  23  :  46-53  ;  John  19  :  38-42. 

5  Luke  23  :  54-56. 


142  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Lord  of  the  Sabbath  was  dead  ;  preparation  be- 
ins:  made  for  his  embahnino-  when  the  Sabbath 
drew  on  it  was  suspended,  and  they  rested,  says 
the  sacred  historian,  according  to  the  command- 
ment. .3.  Because  it  shows  that  the  Sabbath  day 
according  to  the  commandment  is  the  day  before 
the  first  day  of  the  week ;  thus  identifying  the 
seventli  day  in  the  commandment  with  the  sev- 
enth day  of  the  New-Testament  week.  4.  Be- 
cause it  is  a  direct  testimony  that  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  seventh  day  was  preserved  as  late  as 
the  crucifixion;  for  they  observed  the  day  en- 
joined in  the  commandment;  and  that  was  the 
day  on  which  the  Most  High  had  rested  from  the 
work  of  creation. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  following  this  Sab- 
bath, that  is,  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  it 
was  ascertained  that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the 
dead.  It  appears  that  this  event  must  have  taken 
place  upon  that  day,  though  it  is  not  thus  stated 
in  express  terms.  At  this  point  of  time  it  is  sup- 
posed by  many  that  the  Sabbath  was  changed 
from  the  seventli  to  the  first  day  of  the  week  ; 
and  that  the  sacredness  of  the  seventh  day  was 
then  transferred  to  the  first  da}^  of  the  week, 
which  thenceforth  was  the  Christian  Sabbath, 
enforced  by  all  the  authority  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment. To  judge  of  the  truthfulness  of  these 
positions,  let  us  read  with  care  each  mention  of 
the  first  day  found  in  the  four  evangelists.  Thus 
writes  Matthew : — 

"In  the  end  of  the  Sabbath,  as  it  began  to  dawn  to- 
ward the  first  day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene 
and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the  sepulcher." 

Thus  als(j  Mark  writes  : — 


LAST    OF    THE    SEV'ENTY    WEEKS.  143 

''Andwliei)  the  Sabbath  was  past,  Mary  Magdalene 
and  Mary  the  mother  of  James,  and  Salome,  had  bought 
sweet  spices,  that  they  might  come  and  anoint  him.  And 
very  early  in  the  morning,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  they 

came  unto  the  sepulcher  at  the  rising  of  the  sun 

ISoYi  when  Jesus  Avas  risen  early  the  tirst  day  of  the  week, 
he  appeared  first  to  Mary  Magdalene." 

Luke  uses  the  following  language  : — 

"And  they  returned  and  prepared  spices  and  ointments, 
and  rested  the  Sabbath  day  according  to  the  command- 
ment. Now  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  A^ery  early 
in  the  morning,  they  came  unto  the  sepulcher,  bringing 
the  spices  which  the}'-  had  prepared,  and  certain  others 
vdth  them." 

John  bears  the  following  testimony  : — 

"The  first  day  of  the  week  cometh  Mary  Magdalene 
early,  when  it  was  yet  dark,  unto  the  sepulcher,  and  seeth 

the  stone  taken  away  from  the  sepulcher Then 

the  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
when  the  doors  Avere  shut  v/here  the  disciples  were  as- 
sembled for  fear  of  the  Jews,  came  Jesus  and  stood  in 
their  midst,  and  saith  unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you."^ 

In  these  texts  the  foundation  of  the  "  Christian 
Sabbath"  must  be  sought — if  indeed  such  an  insti- 
tution actually  exists — for  there  are  no  other  rec- 
ords of  the  first  day  which  relate  to  the  time  when 
it  is  supposed  to  have  become  sacred.  These 
texts  are  supposed  to  prove  that  at  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Saviour,  the  first  day  Pvbsorbed  the 
sacredness  of  the  seventh,  elevating  itself  from 
the  rank  of  a  secular  to  that  of  a  sacred  day,  and 
abasing  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  to  the  rank  of 
"  the  six  working  days."  ^  Yet  the  following  facts 
must  be  regarded  as  very  extraordinary  indeed 


iMatt.    28:1;    Mark   IG  :  1,  2,  9';    Luke    2G  :  50;    2i  :  1  ;    John 
20:1,  ll>.  'Exe.  40:1. 


144  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAP.DATIT. 

if  this  supposed  change  of  the  Sabbath  here  took 
place  : — 

1.  That  these  texts  should  contain  no  mention 
of  this  change  of  the  Sabbatli.  2.  That  they 
should  carefully  discriminate  between  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  fourth  commandment  and  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  3.  That  they  should  apply  no 
sacred  title  to  that  day ;  particularly  that  they 
should  omit  the  title  of  Christian  Sabbath.  4. 
That  they  should  not  mention  the  fact  that 
Christ  rested  upon  that  day ;  an  act  essential  to 
its  becoming  his  Sabbath.  ^  5.  That  they  do  not 
relate  the  act  of  taking  the  blessing  of  God  from 
the  seventh  day,  and  placing  it  upon  the  first ; 
and  indeed  that  they  do  not  mention  any  act 
whatever  of  blessino-  and  hallowinof  the  day.  6. 
That  they  omit  to  mention  anything  that  Christ 
did  TO  the  first  day  ;  and  that  they  even  neglect 
to  inform  us  that  Christ  so  much  as  took  up  the 
first  day  of  the  vreek  into  his  lips  !  7.  That 
they  give  no  precept  in  support  of  first-day  ob- 
servance, nor  do  they  contain  a  hint  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  first  day  of  the  week  can  be  en- 
forced by  the  autliority  of  the  fourth  command- 
ment. 

Should  it  be  asserted,  however,  from  the  words 
of  John,  that  the  disciples  were  on  this  occasion 
convened  for  the  purpose  of  honoring  the  day  of 
the  resurrection,  and  that  Jesus  sanctioned  this 
act  by  meeting  with  them,  thus  accomplishing 
the  change  of  the  Sabbath,  it  is  sufiicient  to  cite 
in  reply  the  words  of  Mark  in  which  the  same 
interview  is  narrated  : — 

''  Afterward  he  appeared  unto  the  eleven  as  they  sat  at 


See  the  (.li^Mn  of  the  ancient  Sabbath  in  Gen.  2  :l-3. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  145 

meat,  and  ui)braided  them  with  their  unbelief  and  liard- 
ness  of  heart,  because  they  believed  not  them  which  had 
seen  him  after  he  was  risen.  "^ 

This  testimony  of  Mark  sliows  that  the  infer- 
ence so  often  drawn  from  the  words  of  John  is 
utterly  unfounded.  1.  The  disciples  were  assem- 
bled for  the  purpose  of  eating  supper.  2.  Jesus 
came  into  their  midst  and  upbraided  them  for 
their  unbelief  respecting  his  resurrection. 

The  Scriptures  declare  that  "with  God  ail 
things  are  possible ;'  yet  this  statement  is  limited 
by  the  declaration  that  God  cannot  lie.'  Does 
tlie  change  of  the  Sabbath  pertain  to  those  things 
that  are  possible  with  God,  or  is  it  excluded  by 
that  important  limitation,  God  cannot  lie  I  The 
Law-giver  is  the  God  of  truth,  and  his  law  is  the 
truth. ^  Whether  it  would  still  remain  the  truth 
if  changed  to  something  else,  and  v/hether  the 
Law-giver  would  still  continue  to  be  tlie  God  of 
truth  after  he  had  thus  changed  it,  remains  to  be 
seen.  The  fourth  commandment, whicli  is  affirmed 
to  have  been  changed,  is  thus  expressed : — 

"  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy 

-The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God.  .  . 
....  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth, 
the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventli 
day  ;  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and 
haUowed  it." 

If  now  we  insert  "  first  day  "  in  place  of  the 
seventh,  we  shall  brmg  the  matter  to  a  test : — 

"  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy 

The  first  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God 

1  Mark  16  :  14.  That  this  iDterview^vas  certainly  the  same  with 
that  in  John  2o  :  19,  will  be  seen  from  a  careful  examination  of 
Luke  24. 

2  Matt.  19:2G;  Titus  1:2.  sisa.  Go  :1G;  Ps.  119  :  142,  151. 


146  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

For  in  six  clays  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea, 
and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  first  day,  where- 
fore the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it." 

This  cliano-es  tlie  truth  of  God  into  a  lie  ;^  for 
it  is  false  that  God  rested  upon  the  first  da.y  of 
the  week  and  blessed  and  hallowed  it.  Nor  is  it 
possible  to  change  the  rest-day  of  the  Creator 
from  that  day  on  which  he  rested  to  one  of  the 
six  days  on  which  he  did  not  rest.^  To  change 
a  part  of  the  commandment,  and  to  leave  the 
rest  unchanged,  will  not  therefore  answer,  as  the 
truth  which  is  left  is  still  sufficient  to  expose  the 
falsehood  which  is  inserted.  A  more  radical 
change  is  needed,  like  the  following : — 

"Remember  the  Christian  Sabbath,  to  keep  it  holy. 
The  first  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
For  on  tliat  day  he  arose  from  the  dead  ;  wherefore  he 
blessed  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  hallowed  it." 

After  such  a  change,  no  part  of  the  original 
Sabbatic  institution  remains.  Not  only  is  the 
rest-day  of  the  Lord  left  out,  but  even  the  reasons 
on  which  the  fourth  commandment  is  based  are 
of  necessity  omitted  also.  But  does  such  an  edi- 
tion of  the  fourth  commandment  as  this  exist  ? 
Not  in  the  Bible,  certainly.  Is  it  true  that  such 
titles  as  these  are  applied  to  the  first  day  ?  Never, 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Did  the  Law-giver  bless 
and  hallow  that  day  ?  Most  assuredly  not.  He 
did  not  even  take  the  name  of  it  into  his  lips. 
Such  a  change  of  the  fourth  commandment  on 
the  part  of  the  God  of  truth  is  impossible ;  for  it 

1  Rom.  1  :  25. 

'■^It  is  just  as  easv  to  change  the  crncifixion-duy  from  that  day 
of  the  week  on  which  Christ  was  cruciHed,  to  one  of  the  six  days 
on  which  he  was  not,  as  to  change  the  rest-day  of  tlie  Creator 
from  tliat  day  of  the  week  on  which  he  rested,  to  one  of  the  six 
days  on  which  he  wrought  in  the  work  of  creation. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY   WEEKS.  147 

not  merely  afiirms  that  which  is  false  and  denies 
that  which  is  true,  but  it  turns  the  truth  of  God 
itself  into  a  lie.  It  is  simply  the  act  of  setting- 
up  a  rival  to  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  which, 
having  neither  sacredness  nor  authority  of  its 
own,  has  contrived  to  absorb  that  of  the  Bible 
Sabbath  itself.  Such  is  the  foundation  of  the 
first-day  Sabbath.  The  texts  which  are  employed 
in  rearing  the  institution  upon  this  foundation 
will  be  noticed  in  their  proper  order  and  place. 
Several  of  these  texts  properly  pertain  to  this 
chapter : — 

"  And  after  eight  days  again  his  disciples  were  within, 
and  Thomas  with  them  ;  then  came  Jesus,  the  doors  be- 
ing shut,  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto 
you."^ 

It  is  not  asserted  tliat  on  this  occasion  our  Lord 
hallowed  the  first  day  of  the  week ;  for  that  act 
is  affirmed  to  date  from  the  resurrection  itself  on 
the  authority  of  the  texts  already  quoted.  But 
the  sacredness  of  the  first  day  being  assumed  as 
the  foundation,  this  text  furnishes  the  first  stone 
for  the  superstructure  ;  the  first  pillar  in  the  first- 
day  temple.  The  argument  drawn  from  it  may 
be  thus  stated  :  Jesus  selected  this  day  as  the  one 
in  which  to  manifest  himself  to  his  disciples  ;  and 
by  this  act  strongly  attested  his  regard  for  the 
day.  But  it  is  no  small  defect  in  this  argument 
that  his  next  meetinor  with  them  was  on  a  fisliincr 
occasion,^  and  his  la^st  and  most  important  mani- 
festation, when  he  ascended  into  Heaven,  was 
upon  Thursda}^^  The  act  of  the  Saviour  in  meet- 
ing with  his  disciples  must  therefore  be  yielded 

i.John20:26,  2 John  21. 

3  Acts  1:3.  Foi'ty  days  from  the  day  of  the  resurrection  woukl 
expire  on  Thursday. 


lis  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH, 

as  insufficient  of  itself  to  show  that  any  day  is 
sacred  ;  for  it  would  otherwise  prove  the  sacred- 
ness  of  several  of  the  working  days.  But  a  still 
more  serious  defect  in  this  argument  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  this  meeting  of  Jesus  with  his  dis- 
ciples does  not  appear  to  have  been  upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  It  was  "  after  eight  days  "  from 
the  previous  meeting  of  Jesus  and  the  disciples, 
which,  coming  at  the  very  close  of  the  resurrec- 
tion day,  could  not  but  have  extended  into  the 
second  day  of  the  week.^  "After  eight  days" 
from  this  meeting,  if  made  to  signify  only  one 
week,  necessarily  carries  us  to  the  second  day  of 
the  week.  But  a  different  expression  is  used  by 
the  Spirit  of  inspiration  when  simply  one  week 
is  intended.  "  After  seven  days  "  is  the  chosen 
term  of  the  Holy  Spirit  when  designating  just 
one  week. ^  "After  eight  days"  most  naturally 
implies  the  ninth  or  tenth  day  f  but  allowing  it 
to  mean  the  eighth  day,  it  fails  to  prove  that  this 
appearance  of  the  Saviour  was  upon  the  first  day 


1  When  the  resurrection  day  was  "far  spent,"  the  Saviour  and 
two  of  the  disciples  drew  near  to  Emmaus,  a  villaj^e  seven  and  a 
half  miles  from  Jerusalem.  They  constrained  him  to  go  in  with 
them  to  tarry  for  the  niojht.  While  they  were  eating  supper  they 
discovered  that  it  was  Jesus,  when  he  vanished  from  their  sight. 
Then  they  arose  and  returned  to  Jerusalem ;  and  after  their  ar- 
ji'ival,  the  first  meeting  of  Jesus  with  the  eleven  took  place.  It 
could  not  therefore  have  lacked  but  little  of  sunset,  which  closed 
the  day,  if  not  actually  upon  the  second  day,  when  Jesus  came 
into  their  midst.  Luke  'J4.  In  the  latter  case,  the  expression, 
"the  same  day  at  evening  being  the  first  day  of  the  week,"  would 
find  an  exact  parallel  in  meaning,  in  the  expression,  "  in  the  ninth 
day  of  the  month  at  even,"  which  actually  signifies  the  evening 
with  which  the  tenth  day  of  the  seventh  month  commences.  Lev. 
23:32. 

2 Those  who  were  to  come  before  God  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbatlx 
to  minister  in  his  tem])le,  we)'e  said  to  come  "after  seven  days." 
1  Chron.  9:25;  2  Kings  11:5. 

3  "After  six  days,"  instead  of  being  the  sixth  day,  was  about 
eight  days  after.     iMatt.  17:1;   -Mark  '.1:2;  Luke  '.t:2S. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  149 

of  the  week.  To  sum  up  tlie  argument :  The 
first  meeting  of  Jesus  with  his  disciples  in  the 
evening  at  the  close  of  the  first  day  of  the  week 
was  mainly  if  not  wholly  upon  the  second  day 
of  the  week  ;^  the  second  meeting  could  not  have 
been  earlier  in  the  week  than  the  second  or  third 
day,  and  the  day  seems  to  have  been  selected 
simply  because  that  Thomas  was  present;  the 
third  meeting  was  upon  a  fishing  occasion ;  and 
the  fourth,  was  upon  Thursday,  when  he  ascended 
into  Heaven.  The  argument  for  first-day  sacred- 
ness  drawn  from  this  text  is  eminently  fitted  to 
the  foundation  of  that  sacredness  already  exam- 
ined ;  and  the  institution  of  the  first-day  Sab- 
bath itself,  unless  formed  of  more  substantial 
frame-work  than  enters  into  its  foundation,  is  at 
best  only  a  castle  in  the  air. 

The  text  which  next  enters  into  the  fabric  of 
first-day  sacredness  is  the  following : — 

"And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they 
were  all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly 
there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rusliing  mighty 
wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting.  "- 

This  text  is  supposed  to  contribute  an  impor- 
tant pillar  for  the  first-day  temple.  On  this  wise 
it  is  furnished :  The  disciples  were  convened  on 
this  occasion  to  celebrate  the  first-day  Sabbatli, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out  at  that  time 
in  honor  of  that  day.  To  this  deduction  there 
are,  however,  the  most  serious  objections.  1.  That 
there  is  no  evidence  that  a  first-day  Sabbath  was 
then  in  existence.  2.  That  there  is  no  intima- 
tion that   the   disciples  came   together   on  this 

iThat  sunset  marks  the  close  of  the  day,  see  the  close  of  chap- 
ter viii.  2  Acts  2:  1 ,2. 


150  HTSTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

occasion  for  its  celebration.  8.  Nor  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  then  poured  out  in  honor  of  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  4.  That  from  the  ascen- 
sion of  Jesus  until  the  day  of  the  Spirit's  out- 
pouring, the  disciples  had  continued  in  prayer 
and  supplication,  so  that  their  being  conv^ened  on 
this  day  was  nothing  materially  different  from 
what  had  been  the  case  for  the  past  ten  or  more 
days.^  5.  That  had  the  sacred  writer  designed 
to  show  that  a  certain  day  of  the  week  was  hon- 
ored by  the  events  narrated,  he  would  doubtless 
have  stated  that  fact,  and  named  that  day.  6. 
That  Luke  was  so  far  from  naming  the  clay  of 
the  week  that  it  is  even  now  a  disputed  point ; 
eminent  first-day  authors^  even  asserting  that 
the  day  of  Pentecost  that  year  came  upon  the 
seventh  day.  7.  That  the  one  great  event  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  designed  to  mark  was  the  anti- 
type of  the  feast  of  Pentecost;  the  clay  of  the 
week  on  which  that  should  occur  being  wholly 
immaterial.  How  widely,  therefore,  do  those  err 
who  reverse  this  order,  making  the  day  of  the 
week,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  not  even  named, 
but  which  they  assume  to  be  the  first  day,  the 
thing  of  chief  importance,  and  passing  in  silence 
over  that  fact  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  so  care- 
fully noted,  that  this  event  took  place  upon  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  The  conclusion  to  which  these 
facts  lead  is  inevitable ;  viz.,  that  the  pillar  fur- 
nished from  this  text  for  the  first-day  temple  is 
like  the  foundation  of  that  edifice,  simply  a  thing 

1  Luke  2i:  49-53;  Acts  1. 

2  Horatio  B.  Ilackct,  I).  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature,  in 
Newton  Theological  Institution,  thus  remarks:  "It  is  generally 
supposed  that  this  Pentecost,  signalized  by  the  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit,  fell  on  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  our  Saturday."— C'o;/i- 
mentary  on,  the  Original  Ttxt  of  the  Acts,  pp.  50,  51. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  151 

of  the  imagination,  and  quite  worthy  of  a  place 
beside  the  pillar  furnished  from  the  record  of  our 
Lord's  second  appearance  to  his  disciples. 

A  third  pillar  for  the  first-day  edifice  is  the 
following :  Redemption  is  greater  than  creation  ; 
therefore  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection  should 
be  observed  instead  of  the  day  of  the  Creator's 
rest.  But  this  proposition  is  open  to  the  fatal 
objection  that  the  Bible  says  nothing  of  the  kind.^ 
Who  then  knows  that  it  is  true  ?  When  the 
Creator  gave  existence  to  our  world,  did  he  not 
foresee  the  fall  of  man  ?  And,  foreseeing  that  fall, 
did  he  not  entertain  the  purpose  of  redeeming 
man  ?  And  does  it  not  follow  that  the  purpose 
of  redemption  was  entertained  in  that  of  crea- 
tion ?  W^ho  then  can  affirm  that  redemption  is 
greater  than  creation  ? 

But  as  the  Scriptures  do  not  decide  this  point, 
let  it  be  assumed  that  redemption  is  the  greater. 
Who  knows  that  a  day  should  be  set  apart  for  its 
commemoration  ?  The  Bible  says  nothing  on  the 
point.  But  granting  that  a  day  should  be  set 
apart  for  this  purpose,  what  day  should  have  the 
]:)reference  ?  Is  it  said,  That  day  on  which  re- 
demption was  finished  ?     It  is  not  true  that  re- 

iln  1633,  William  Prynne,  a  prisoner  in  the  tower  of  London, 
composed  a  work  m  defense  of  first-day  observance,  entitled, 
"Dissertation  on  the  Lord's  Day  Sabbath."  He  thus  acknowl- 
edges the  futility  of  the  argument  under  consideration:  "No 
scripture  .  .  .  prefers  or  advanceth  the  work  of  redemption  .  .  . 
before  the  Avork  of  creation  ;  both  these  works  being  very  great 
and  glorious  in  themselves  ;  wherefore  I  cannot  believe  the  work 
of  redemption,  or  Christ's  resurrection  alone,  to  be  more  excel- 
lent and  glorious  than  the  work  of  creation,  without  sufficient 
texts  and  Scripture  grounds  to  prove  it  ;  but  may  deny  it  as  a 
presumptuous  fancy  or  unsound  assertion,  till  satisfactorily 
proved,  as  well  as  peremptorily  averred  without  proof" — Page 
59.  This  is  the  judgment  of  a  candid  advocate  of  the  first  day  as  a 
Christian  festival.  On  Acts  20:7,  he  will  be  allowed  to  testify 
again. 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

demption  is  finished;  tlie  resurrection  of  the 
saints  and  the  redemption  of  our  earth  from  the 
curse  are  included  in  that  work.^  But  orrantinor 
that  redemption  should  be  commemorated  before 
it  is  finished,  by  setting  apart  a  day  in  its  honor, 
the  question  again  arises,  What  day  shall  it  be  ? 
The  Bible  is  silent  in  reply.  If  the  most  memo- 
rable day  in  the  history  of  redemption  should  be 
selected,  undoubtedly  the  day  of  the  crucifixion, 
on  which  the  price  of  human  redemption  was  paid, 
must  have  the  preference.  Which  is  the  more 
memorable  day,  that  on  which  the  infinite  Law- 
giver gave  up  his  only  and  well-beloved  Son  to 
die  an  ignominious  death  for  a  race  of  rebels  who 
had  broken  his  law,  or  that  day  on  which  he  re- 
stored that  beloved  Son  to  life  ?  The  latter  event, 
though  of  thrillincr  interest,  is  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world ;  the  crucifixion  of  the  Son  of 
God  for  sinful  men  may  be  safely  pronounced  the 
most  wonderful  event  in  the  annals  of  eternity. 
The  crucifixion  day  is  therefore  beyond  all  com- 
parison the  more  memorable  day.  And  that  re- 
demption itself  is  asserted  of  the  crucifixion 
rather  than  of  the  resurrection  is  an  undoubted 
fact.     Thus  it  is  written : — 

''In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood;" 
"  Christ  hath  redeemed  iis  from  the  cnrse  of  the  law,  be- 
ing made  a  curse  for  lis,  for  it  is  Avritten,  Cursed  is  every 
(me  that  hangeth  on  a  tree;"  "Thou  Avast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood.  "- 

If,  therefore,  any  day  should  be  observed  in 
memory  of  redemption,  unquestionably  the  day 
of  the  crucifixion  should  have  the  preference. 
But  it  is  needless  to  pursue  this  point  further. 


Luke  21  :  28 ;  Rom.  8 :  23  ;  Eph.  1 :  13,  U ;  4  : 
Kph.   1:7:   Cal.  3:  13;   Rev.  f, :  9. 


LAST   OF   THE    SEVENTY   WEEKS.  153 

Whether  the  day  of  the  crucifixion  or  the  day  of 
the  resurrection  should  be  preferred  is  quite  im- 
material. The  Holy  Spirit  has  said  nothing  in 
behalf  of  either  of  these  days,  but  it  has  taken 
care  that  the  event  in  each  case  should  have  its 
own  appropriate  memorial.  Would  you  com- 
memorate the  crucifixion  of  the  Redeemer  ?  You 
need  not  change  the  Sabbath  to  the  crucifixion 
day.  It  would  be  a  presumptuous  sin  in  you  to 
do  this.  Here  is  the  divinely  appointed  memorial 
of  the  crucifixion : — 

' '  The  Lord  Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  be- 
trayed, took  bread  ;  and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he 
brake  it,  and  said.  Take,  eat  ;  this  is  my  body,  which  is 
broken  for  you  ;  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me.  After 
the  same  manner  also  he  took  the  cup,  when  he  had 
supped,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my 
blood:  this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance 
of  me.  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this 
cup,  jQ  do  shew  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come."^ 

It  is  the  death  of  the  Redeemer,  therefore,  and 
not  the  day  of  his  death  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
thought  worthy  of  commemoration.  Would  you 
also  commemorate  the  resurrection  of  the  Re- 
deemer ?  You  need  not  change  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Bible  for  that  purpose.  The  great  Law-giver 
has  never  authorized  such  an  act.  But  an  ap- 
propriate memorial  of  that  event  has  been  or- 
dained : — 

''Know  ye  not  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized 
into  Jesus  Christ,  were  baptized  into  his  death  ?  There- 
fore we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death  ;  that 
like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of 
the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of 
life.     For  if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  like- 


1 1  Cor.  11  :  23-26. 
Sabbath  History.  H 


154  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  his 
resurrection."  ^ 

To  be  buried  in  the  watery  grave  as  our  Lord 
was  buried  in  the  tomb,  and  to  be  raised  from  the 
water  to  walk  in  newness  of  life,  as  our  Lord  was 
raised  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
is  the  divinely  authorized  memorial  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  let  it  be  ob- 
served, it  is  not  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  but 
the  resurrection  itself,  that  was  thought  worthy 
of  commemoration.  The  events  which  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  redemption  are  the  death,  burial, 
and  resurrection,  of  the  Redeemer.  Each  of 
these  has  its  appropriate  memorial;  while  the 
days  on  which  they  severally  occurred  have  no 
importance  attached  to  them.  It  was  the  death 
of  the  Redeemer,  and  not  the  day  of  his  death, 
that  was  worthy  of  commemoration ;  and  hence 
the  Lord's  supper  was  appointed  for  that  purpose. 
It  was  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour,  and  not 
the  day  of  the  resurrection,  that  was  worthy  of 
commemoration ;  and  hence  buiial  in  baptism 
was  ordained  as  its  memorial.     It  is  the  change 

o 

of  this  memorial  to  sprinkling  that  has  furnished 
so  plausible  a  plea  for  first-day  observance  in 
memory  of  the  resurrection. 

To  celebrate  the  work  of  redemption  by  resting 
from  labor  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  after  six 
days  of  toil,  it  should  be  true  tliat  our  Lord  ac- 
complished the  work  of  human  redemption  in  the 
six  days  prior  to  that  of  his  resurrection,  and  tliat 
be  rested  on  that  day  from  the  work,  blessing  it, 
and  setting  it  apart  for  that  reason.  Yet  not  one 
of  these  particulars  is  true.     Our  Lord's  whole 

iRom.  G:3-5;  Col.  2:12. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  155 

life  was  devoted  to  this  work.  He  rested  tem- 
porarily from  it  indeed  over  the  Sabbath  follow- 
ing his  crucifixion,  but  resumed  the  work  on  the 
morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  which  he 
has  never  since  relinquished,  and  never  will, 
until  its  perfect  accomplishment  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  saints  and  the  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession.  Redemption,  therefore, 
furnishes  no  plea  for  a  change  of  the  Sabbath  ; 
its  own  memorials  being  quite  sufficient,  without 
destroying  that  of  the  great  Creator.  And  thus 
the  third  pillar  in  the  temple  of  first-day  sacred- 
ness,  like  the  other  parts  of  that  structure  which 
have  been  already  examined,  is  found  to  be  a 
thing  of  the  imagination  only. 

A  fourth  pillar  in  this  temple  is  taken  from  an 
ancient  prophecy  in  which  it  is  claimed  that  the 
Christian  Sabbath  was  foretold  : — 

"The  stone  wliicli  the  builders  refused  is  become  the 
head  stone  of  the  corner.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing  ;  it  is 
marvelous  in  our  eyes.  This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord 
hath  made;  we  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it."^ 

This  text  is  considered  one  of  the  strongest 
testimonies  in  support  of  the  Christian  Sabbath. 
Yet  it  is  necessary  to  assume  the  very  points 
that  this  text  is  supposed  to  prove.  1.  It  is 
assumed  that  the  Saviour  became  the  head  of  the 
corner  by  his  resurrection.  2.  That  the  day  of 
his  t-esurrection  was  made  the  Christian  Sabbath 
in  commemoration  of  that  event.  3.  And  that 
this  day  thus  ordained  should  be  celebrated  by 
abstinence  from  labor,  and  attendance  upon  di- 
vine worship. 

To  these  extraordinary  assumptions  it  is  proper 

iPs.  118  :  22-24. 


156  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

to  reply :  1.  There  is  no  proof  that  Jesus  became 
the  head  of  the  corner  on  the  day  of  his  resurrec- 
tion. The  Scriptures  do  not  mark  the  day  when 
this  event  took  place.  His  being  made  head  of 
the  corner  has  reference  to  his  becoming  the  chief 
corner  stone  of  that  spiritual  temple  composed  of 
his  people  ;  in  other  words,  it  has  reference  to  his 
becoming  head  of  that  living  body,  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  as- 
sumed this  position  until  his  ascension  on  high, 
where  he  became  the  chief  corner  stone  in  Zion 
above,  elect  and  precious.  ^  And  hence  there  is 
no  evidence  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  even 
referred  to  in  this  text.  2.  Nor  is  there  the 
slightest  evidence  that  that  day  or  any  other  day 
was  set  apart  as  the  Christian  Sabbath  in  mem- 
ory of  Christ's  resurrection.  3.  Nor  can  there 
well  be  found  a  more  extraordinary  assumption 
than  that  this  text  enjoins  the  Sabbatic  observ- 
ance of  the  first  day  of  the  week  ! 

This  scripture  has  manifest  reference  to  the 
Saviour's  act  of  becoming  the  head  of  the  New- 
Testament  church  ;  and  consequently  it  pertains 
to  the  opening  of  the  gospel  dispensation.  The 
day  in  which  the  people  of  God  rejoice,  in  view 
of  this  relation  to  the  Redeemer,  can  therefore  be 
understood  of  no  one  day  of  the  week ;  for  they 
are  commanded  to  "rejoice  evermoke;"^  but  of 
the  whole  period  of  the  gospel  dispensation.  •Our 
Lord  uses  the  word  day  in  the  same  manner  when 
he  says  : — 

"Your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day  ;  and 
he  saw  it,  and  was  glad. "  ^ 

1  Eph.  1  :  20-23 ;  2  :  20,  21 ;  1  Pet.  2  :  4-7. 

n  Thcss.  5  :  ir..  3Jolin8:5C. 


LAST    OF    THE    SEVENTY    WEEKS.  157 

To  assert  the  existence  of  what  is  termed  the 
Christian  Sabbath  on  the  ground  that  this  text  is 
the  prediction  of  such  an  institution,  is  to  furnish 
a  fourth  pillar  for  the  first-day  temple  quite  as 
substantial  as  those  already  tested. 

The  seventieth  week  of  Daniel's  prophecy  ex- 
tends three  and  a  half  years  beyond  the  death  of 
the  Redeemer,  to  the  commencement  of  the  great 
work  for  the  Gentiles.  This  period  of  seven  years 
through  which  we  have  been  passing  is  the  most 
eventful  period  in  the  history  of  the  Sabbath.  It 
embraces  the  whole  history  of  the  Lord  of  the 
Sabbath  as  connected  with  that  institution :  His 
miracles  and  teaching,  by  which  it  is  affirmed 
that  he  weakened  its  authority;  his  death,  at 
which  many  affirm  that  he  abrogated  it ;  and  his 
resurrection,  at  which  a  still  larger  number  de- 
clare that  he  changed  it  to  the  tirst  day  of  the 
week.  We  have  had  the  most  ample  evidence, 
however,  that  each  of  these  positions  is  false ;  and 
that  the  opening  of  the  great  work  for  the  Gen- 
tiles witnessed  the  Sabbath  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment neither  weakened,  abrogated,  nor 
changed. 


158  HISTORY    OF    THE   SABBATH. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   SABBATH   DURING   THE  MINISTRY   OF   THE 
APOSTLES. 

The  knowledge  of  God  preserved  in  the  family  of  Abraham 
— The  call  of  the  Gentiles — The  new  covenant  puts  the 
law  of  God  into  the  heart  of  each  Christian — The  new  cov- 
enant has  a  temple  in  Heaven  ;  and  an  ark  containing  the 
great  original  of  that  law  which  was  in  the  ark  upon  eartli 
— And  before  that  ark  a  priest  whose  oiferiog  can  take 
away  sin — The  Old  and  New  Testaments  compared — The 
human  family  in  all  ages  amenable  to  the  law  of  God — 
The  good  olive  tree  shows  the  intimate  relation  between 
the  church  of  the  New  Testament  and  the  Hebrew  church 
— The  apostolic  church  observed  the  Sabbath — Examina- 
tion of  Acts  li]  — The  assembly  of  the  apostles  at  Jerusa- 
lem— Sabbatarian  origin  of  the  church  at  Philippi — Of  the 
church  of  the  Thessalonians — Of  the  church  of  Corinth — 
The  churches  in  Judea  and  in  many  cases  among  the  Gen- 
tiles began  with  Sabbath-keepers — Examination  of  1  Cor. 
16  :  1,  'I — Self-contradiction  of  Dr.  Edwards — Paul  at 
Troas — Examination  of  Rom.  14  :  1-G — Flight  of  the  dis- 
ciples from  Judea — The  Sabbath  of  the  Bible  at  the  close 
of  the  first  century. 

We  have  now  traced  the  Sabbath  through  the 
})eriod  of  its  especial  connection  with  the  family 
of  Abraham.  The  termination  of  the  seventy 
weeks  brings  us  to  the  call  of  the  Gentiles,  and  to 
their  admission  to  equal  privileges  with  the  He- 
brew race.  We  have  seen  that  with  God  there 
was  no  injustice  in  conferring  especial  blessings 
upon  the  Hebrews,  and  at  the  same  time  leaving 
the  Gentiles  to  their  own  chosen  ways.^  Twice 
had  he  given  the  human  family,  as  a  whole,  tlie 
most  ample  means  of  grace  that  their  age  of  the 

'  Sec  chap.  lii. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  159 

world  admitted,  and  each  time  did  it  result  in  the 
almost  total  apostasy  of  mankind.  Then  God  se- 
lected as  his  heritage  the  family  of  Abraham,  his 
friend;  and  by  means  of  that  family  preserved  in 
the  earth  the  knowledge  of  his  law,  his  Sabbath, 
and  himself,  until  the  coming  of  the  great  Messiah. 
During  his  ministry,  the  Messiah  solemnly  af- 
firmed the  perpetuity  of  his  Father's  law,  enjoin- 
ing obedience,  even  to  its  least  commandment  ;^  at 
his  death  he  broke  down  that  middle  wall  of 
partition  ^  by  which  the  Hebrews  had  so  long 
been  preserved  a  separate  people  in  the  earth ; 
and  when  about  to  ascend  into  Heaven  command- 
ed his  disciples  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature ;  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  which  he  had  commanded 
them.^  With  the  expiration  of  the  seventieth 
week,  the  apostles  enter  upon  the  execution  of 
this  great  commission  to  the  Gentiles.*  Several 
facts  of  deep  interest  should  here  be  noticed : — 
1.  The  new  covenant  or  testament  dates  from 
the  death  of  the  Redeemer.  In  accordance  with 
the  prediction  of  Jeremiah,  it  began  with  the 
Hebrews  alone,  and  was  confined  exclusively  to 
them  until  the  expiration  of  the  seventieth  week. 
Then  the  Gentiles  were  admitted  to  a  full  par- 
ticipation with  the  Hebrews  in  its  blessings,  be- 
ing no  longer  aliens  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citi- 
zens with  the  saints.^  God  entered  into  covenant 
this  time  with  his  people  as  individuals  and  not 
as  a  nation.     The  promises  of  this  covenant  em- 

1  Matt.  5 :  17-19.  2  Eph.  2: 13-16 ;  Col.  2 :  14-17. 

3  Matt.  28:19,  20:  Mark  16: 15. 

4  Dan.  9 :  24-27  ;  Acts  9  ;  10;  11;  26:12-17;  Rom.  11:13. 

6 1  Cor.  11 :  25 ;   Jer.  81 :  31-34 ;  Ileb.  8 : 8-12  ;  Dan.  9 :  27  ;  Eph. 
2:11-22'. 


160  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

brace  two  points  of  great  interest :  (1)  That  God 
will  put  his  law  into  the  hearts  of  his  people.  (2) 
That  he  will  forgive  their  sins.  These  promises 
being  made  six  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of 
Christ,  there  can  be  no  question  relative  to  what 
was  meant  by  the  law  of  God.  It  was  the  law 
of  God  then  in  existence  that  should  be  put  into 
the  heart  of  each  new-covenant  saint.  The  new 
covenant,  then,  is  based  upon  the  perpetuity  of 
the  law  of  God ;  it  does  not  abrogate  that  law, 
but  takes  away  sin,  the  transgression  of  the  law, 
from  the  heart,  and  puts  the  law  of  God  in  its 
place.  ^  The  perpetuity  of  each  precept  of  the 
moral  law  lies,  therefore,  at  the  very  foundation 
of  the  new  covenant. 

2.  As  the  first  covenant  had  a  sanctuary,  and 
within  that  sanctuary  an  ark  containing  the  law 
of  God  in  ten  commandments,  ^  and  had  also  a 
priesthood  to  minister  before  that  ark,  to  make 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  men,^  even  thus  is  it 
with  the  new  covenant.  Instead  of  the  tabernacle 
erected  by  Moses  as  the  pattern  of  the  true,  the 
new  covenant  has  the  greater  and  more  perfect 
tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched  and  not  man 
— the  temple  of  God  in  Heaven.^  As  the  gr^at 
central  point  in  the  earthly  sanctuary  was  the 
ark  containing  that  law  Avhich  man  had  broken, 
even  thus  it  is  with  the  heavenly  sanctuary. 
"  The  temple  of  God  was  opened  in  Heaven,  and 
there  was  seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of  his  testa- 
ment." ^     Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  a  great  High 

1  Matt.  5  :  17-19  ;  1  John  3  :  4,  5 :  Rom.  4: 15. 

2  Ileb.  9  :  1-7  ;  Ex.  25  :  1-21 ;  Deut.  10 :  4,  5;  1  Kings  8  :  9. 
3lleb.,  chaps.  7-10;  Lev.  IG. 

<  Heb.  8 : 1-5 ;  9 :  23,  24.  &  Re  v.  11 :  19. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    THE   APOSTLES.  161 

Priest  presents  his  own  blood  before  the  ark  of 
God's  testament  in  the  temple  in  Heaven.  Re- 
specting this  object  before  which  he  ministers,  let 
the  following  points  be  noted  : — 

1.  The  ark  in  the  heavenly  temple  is  not 
empty ;  it  contains  the  testament  of  God ;  and 
hence  it  is  the  great  center  of  the  sanctuary 
above,  as  the  ark  of  God's  testament  was  the  cen- 
ter of  the  sanctuary  on  earth.  ^ 

2.  The  death  of  the  Redeemer  for  the  sins  of 
men,  and  his  work  as  High  Priest  before  the  ark 
in  Heaven,  have  direct  reference  to  the  fact  that 
within  that  ark  is  the  law  which  mankind  have 
broken. 

8.  As  the  atonement  and  priesthood  of  Christ 
have  reference  to  the  law  within  that  ark  before 
which  he  ministers,  it  follows  that  this  law  ex- 
isted and  was  transgressed  before  the  Saviour 
came  down  to  die  for  men. 

4.  And  hence,  the  law  contained  in  the  ark 
above  is  not  a  law  which  originated  in  the  New 
Testament ;  for  it  necessarily  existed  long  ante- 
rior to  it. 

5.  If,  therefore,  God  has  revealed  this  law  to 
mankind,  that  revelation  must  be  sought  in  the 
Old  Testament.  For  while  the  New  Testament 
makes  many  references  to  that  law  which  caused 
tlie  Saviour  to  lay  down  his  life  for  sinful  men, 
and  even  quotes  from  it,  it  never  publishes  a  sec- 
ond edition,  but  cites  us  to  the  Old  Testament 
for  the  original  code.^ 

6.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  this  law  is  revealed, 


lEx.  25:21,  22. 

2  Rom.  3:19-31;  5:8-21;  8:3,4;  13:8-10;  Gal.  3:13,  14:  Eph 
6:2,  3;  James  2:«-12;  1  John  3:4,  5. 


162  HISTORY   OF    THE    SABBATH.     . 

and  that  this  revelation  is  to  be  found  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

7.  In  that  volume  will  be  found,  (1)  The  de- 
scent of  the  Holy  One  upon  Mount  Sinai ;  (2) 
The  proclamation  of  his  law  in  ten  command- 
ments ;  (3)  The  ten  commandments  written  by 
the  linger  of  God  upon  two  tables  of  stone ;  (4) 
These  tables  placed  beneath  the  mercy-seat  in  the 
ark  of  the  earthly  sanctuary.^ 

8.  That  this  remarkable  Old -Testament  law 
which  was  shut  up  in  the  ark  of  the  earthly  sanc- 
tuary was  identical  with  that  in  the  ark  in  Heaven, 
may  be  thus  shown :  (1)  The  mercy-seat  which 
was  placed  over  the  ten  commandments  was  the 
place  from  which  pardon  was  expected,  the  great 
central  point  in  the  work  of  atonement;^  (2) 
The  law  beneath  the  mercy-seat  was  that  which 
made  the  work  of  atonement  necessary;  (3) 
There  was  no  atonement  that  could  take  away 
sins;  it  was  only  a  shadowy  or  typical  atone- 
ment ;  (4)  But  there  was  actual  sin,  and  hence 
a  real  law  which  man  had  broken;  (5)  There 
must  therefore  be  an  atonement  that  can  take 
away  sins  ;  and  that  real  atonement  must  pertain 
to  that  law  which  was  broken,  and  respecting 
which  an  atonement  had  been  shadowed  forth. ^ 
(6)  The  ten  commandments  are  thus  set  forth  in 
the  Old  Testament  as  tliat  law  which  demanded 
an  atonement ;  while  the  fact  is  ever  kept  in  view 
that  those  sacrifices  there  provided  could  not 
avail  to  take  away  sins.*  (7)  But  the  death  of 
Jesus  as  the  antitype  of  those  sacrifices,  was  de- 
signed to  accomplish  precisely  what  they  shad- 

lEx.  19;  20;  24:12;  31:18;  Dcut.  10.  ^i.ev.  16. 

^KoiD.  3:T.t  31  ;  IJobn  3:4,  5.  ^  Ps.  40:  OS;  Ileb.  10. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  163 

owed  forth,  but  which  they  could  not  effect,  viz., 
to  make  atonement  for  the  transgression  of  that 
law  which  was  placed  in  the  ark  beneath  the 
mercy- sea  t.^ 

We  are  thus  brought  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
law  of  God  contained  in  the  ark  in  Heaven  is  iden- 
tical with  that  law  which  w^as  contained  in  the 
ark  upon  earth  ;  and  that  both  are  identical  with 
that  law  which  the  new  covenant  puts  in  the 
heart  of  each  believer.^  The  Old  Testament, 
therefore,  gives  us  the  law  of  God  and  pronounces 
it  perfect ;  it  also  provides  a  typical  atonement, 
but  pronounces  it  inadequate  to  take  away  sins.^ 
Hence  what  was  needed  was  not  a  new  edition  of 
the  law  of  God ;  for  that  which  was  given  already 
was  perfect ;  but  a  real  atonement  to  take  away 
the  miiit  of  the  transgressor.  So  the  New  Test- 
ament  responds  precisely  to  this  want,  providmg 
a  real  atonement  in  the  death  and  intercession  of 
the  Redeemer,  but  giving  no  new"  edition  of  the 
law  of  God,^  though  it  fails  not  to  cite  us  to  the 
perfect  code  given  long  before.  But  although 
the  New  Testament  does  not  give  a  new  edition 
of  the  law  of  God,  it  does  show  that  the  Christian 
dispensation  has  the  great  original  of  that  law  in 
the  sanctuary  in  Heaven. 

9.  We  have  seen  that  the  new  covenant  places 
the  law  of  God  in  the  heart  of  each  believer,  and 
that  the  original  of  that  law  is  preserved  in  the 
temple  in  Heaven.  That  all  mankind  are  amena- 
ble to  the  law  of  God,  and  that  they  ever  have 
been,  is  clearly  shown  by  Paul's  epistle  to  the 
Romans.     In  the  first  chapter,  he  traces  the  ori- 

1  Heb.  0  ;  1<\  2  Jer.  31 :  33  ;  Rom.  8 : 3,  4 ;  2  Cor.  3 :  3. 

« Ps.  I'J :  7  ;  James  1:55;  Ps.  40.  '•Kom.  5. 


164  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

gin  of  idolatry  to  the  willful  apostasy  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, which  took  place  soon  after  the  flood.  In 
the  second  chapter,  he  shows  that  although  God 
gave  them  up  to  their  own  ways,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence left  them  without  his  written  law,  yet  they 
were  not  left  in  utter  darkness ;  for  they  had  by 
nature  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts  ; 
and  dim  as  Avas  this  light,  their  salvation  would 
be  secured  by  living  up  to  it,  or  their  ruin  accom- 
plished by  sinning  against  it.  In  the  third  chap- 
ter, he  shows  what  advantage  the  family  of  Abra- 
ham had  in  beinor  taken  as  the  heritacre  of  God, 
while  all  other  nations  were  left  to  their  own 
ways.  It  was  that  the  oracles  of  God,  the  writ- 
ten law,  was  given  them  in  addition  to  that  work 
of  the  law  written  in  the  heart,  which  they  had 
by  nature  in  common  with  the  Gentiles.  He 
then  shows  that  they  were  no  better  than  the 
Gentiles,  because  that  both  classes  were  trans- 
gressors of  the  law.  This  he  proves  by  quota- 
tions from  the  Old  Testament.  Then  he  shows 
that  the  law  of  God  has  jurisdiction  over  all 
mankind : — 

' '  Now  we  know  that  what  things  soever  the  law  saith, 
it  saith  to  them  who  are  under  the  law,  tliat  every  mouth 
may  be  stopped,  and  all  the  world  may  become  guilty  be- 
fore God."^ 

He  then  shows  that  the  law  cannot  save  the 
guilty,  but  must  condemn  them,  and  that  justly. 
Next,  he  reveals  the  great  fact  that  redemption 
through  the  death  of  Jesus  is  the  only  means  by 
which  God  can  justify  those  who  seek  pardon, 
and  at  the  same  time  remain  just  himself  And 
finally  he  exclaims  : — 

iRoni.  3:19. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  165 

' '  Do  we  then  make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God 
forbid  ;  yea,  we  establish  the  law."^ 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  law  of  God  is  un- 
abolished; that  the  sentence  of  condemnation 
which  it  pronounces  upon  the  guilty  is  as  extens- 
ive as  is  the  offer  of  pardon  through  the  gospel ; 
that  its  work  exists  in  the  hearts  of  men  by  nat- 
ure ;  from  which  we  may  conclude  that  man  in  his 
uprightness  possessed  it  in  perfection,  as  is  fur- 
ther proved  by  the  fact  that  the  new  covenant, 
after  delivering  men  from  the  condemnation  of 
the  law  of  God,  puts  that  law  perfectly  into  their 
hearts.  From  all  of  which  it  follows  that  the 
law  of  God  is  the  great  standard  by  which  sin  is 
shown,"  and  hence  the  rule  of  life,  by  which  all 
mankind,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  should  walk. 

That  the  church  in  the  present  dispensation  is 
really  a  continuation  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  church, 
is  shown  by  the  illustration  of  the  good  olive  tree. 
That  ancient  church  was  God's  olive  tree,  and  that 
olive  tree  has  never  been  destroyed.^  Because  of 
unbelief,  some  of  its  branches  were  broken  off; 
but  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles 
does  not  create  a  new  olive  tree ;  it  only  grafts 
into  the  good  olive  tree  such  of  the  Gentiles  as 
believe ;  gi\^ng  them  a  place  among  the  original 
branches,  that  with  them  they  may  partake  of  its 
root  and  fatness.  This  olive  tree  must  date  from 
the  call  of  Abraham  after  the  apostasy  of  the 
Gentiles;  its  trunk  representing  the  patriarchs, 
beginning  with  the  father  of  the  faithful;^  its 
branches,  the  Hebrew  people.  The  ingrafting  of 
the  wild  olive  into  the  place  of  those  branches 

iRom.  3:31.  2  Rom.  3:20;  lJobu3:4,  5;  2:1,  2. 

3Jer.ll:lt3;  Rom.  11 :17-24.        iRom.  4:16-18;  Gal.  3:7-9. 


166  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

which  were  broken  off,  represents  the  admission 
of  the  Gentiles  to  equal  privileges  with  the  He- 
brews after  the  expiration  of  the  seventy  weeks. 
The  Old-Testament  church,  the  original  olive  tree, 
was  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  an  holy  nation ;  the 
New-Testament  church,  the  olive  tree  after  the 
ingrafting  of  the  Gentiles,  is  described  in  the  same 
terms.  ^ 

When  God  gave  up  the  Gentiles  to  apostasy 
before  the  call  of  Abraham,  he  confounded  their 
language,  that  they  should  not  understand  one 
another,  and  thus  scattered  them  abroad  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth.  Standing  over  against 
this  is  the  gift  of  tongues  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
preparatory  to  the  call  of  the  Gentiles,  and  their 
ingrafting  into  the  good  olive  tree.  ^ 

We  have  followed  the  Sabbath  to  the  call  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  the  opening  events  of  the  gospel 
dispensation.  We  find  the  law  of  God,  of  which 
the  Sabbath  is  a  part,  to  be  that  which  made  our 
Lord's  death  as  an  atoning  sacrifice  necessary  ; 
and  that  the  great  original  of  that  law  is  in  the 
ark  above,  before  which  our  Lord  ministers  as  high 
priest ;  while  a  copy  of  that  law  is  by  the  new 
covenant  written  within  the  heart  of  each  believer. 
It  is  seen,  therefore,  that  the  law  of  God  is  more 
intimately  connected  with  the  people  of  God  since 
the  death  of  the  Redeemer  than  before  that  event. 

That  the  apostolic  church  did  sacredly  regard 
the  Sabbath,  as  well  as  all  the  other  precepts  of 
the  moral  law,  admits  of  no  doubt.  The  fact  is 
proved,  not  merely  because  the  early  Christians 
were  not  accused  of  its  violation  by  their  most 
inveterate  enemies ;  nor  wholly  by  the  fact  that 

'Ex.  19  : 5,  6;  1  Pet.  2:9,  10.       ••'aen.  11  : 1-9  ;  Acts  2  :l-n. 


IX   THE    DAYS    OF   THE    APOSTLES.  167 

they  held  sin  to  be  the  transgression  of  the  law, 
and  that  the  law  was  the  great  standard  by 
which  sin  is  shown,  and  that  by  which  sin  be- 
comes exceeding  sinful.^  These  points  are  cer- 
tainly very  decisive  evidence  that  the  apostolic 
church  did  keep  the  fourth  commandment.  The 
testimony  of  James  relative  to  the  ten  command- 
ments, that  he  who  violates  one  of  them  becomes 
guilty  of  all,  is  yet  another  strong  evidence  that 
the  primitive  church  did  sacredly  regard  the 
whole  law  of  God.  ^  But  besides  these  facts  we 
have  a  peculiar  guaranty  that  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord  was  not  forgotten  by  the  apostolic  church. 
The  prayer  which  our  Lord  taught  his  disciples, 
that  their  flight  from  Judea  should  not  be  upon 
the  Sabbath  was,  as  we  have  seen,  designed  to 
impress  its  sacredness  deeply  upon  their  minds, 
and  could  not  but  have  secured  that  result.  ^  In 
the  history  of  the  primitive  church  we  have 
several  important  references  to  the  Sabbath. 
The  first  of  these  is  as  follows : — 

"  Bat  when  tliey  departed  from  Perga,  they  came  to 
Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and  went  into  the  synagogue  on  the 
Sabbath  day,  and  sat  down."  * 

By  invitation  of  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue, 
Paul  delivered  an  extended  address,  proving  that 
Jesus  was  the  Christ.  In  the  course  of  these  re- 
marks he  used  the  following  language  : — 

' '  For  they  that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  and  their  rulers, 
because  they  knew  him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day,  they  have 
fulfilled  them  in  condemning  him."^ 

When  Paul's  discourse  was  concluded,  Ave 
read : — 

1  Rom.  7  :  12,  13.  2  James  2  : 8-12.  » See  chapter  x. 

4  Acts  13:14.  5  Verse  27. 


168  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

"  And  when  the  Jews  were  gone  out  of  the  synagogue, 
the  Gentiles  besought  that  these  words  might  be  preached 
to  them  the  next  Sabbath.  ^  Now  when  the  congregation 
was  broken  up,  many  of  the  Jews  and  religious  fjroselytes 
followed  Paul  and  Barnabas  :  who  speaking  to  them,  per- 
suaded them  to  continue  in  the  grace  of  God.  And  the 
next  Sabbath  day  came  almost  the  whole  city  together  to 
hear  the  word  of  God," 

These  texts  show,  1.  That  by  the  term  Sab- 
bath in  the  book  of  Acts  is  meant  that  day  on 
which  the  Jewish  people  assembled  in  the  syna- 
gogue to  listen  to  the  voices  of  the  prophets.  2. 
That  as  this  discourse  was  fourteen  years  after 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  the  record  of  it  by 
Luke  was  some  thirty  years  after  that  event,  it 
follows  that  the  alleged  change  of  the  Sabbath 
at  the  resurrection  of  Christ  had  not,  even  after 
many  years,  come  to  the  knowledge  of  either 
Luke  or  Paul.  3.  That  here  was  a  remarkable 
opportunity  to  mention  the  change  of  the  Sab- 
bath, had  it  been  true  that  the  Sabbath  had 
been  changed  in  honor  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion. For  when  Paul  was  asked  to  preach  the 
same  words  the  next  Sabbath,  he  might  have 
answered  that  the  following  day  was  now  the 
proper  day  for  divine  v/orship.  And  Luke,  in 
placing  this  incident  upon  record,  could  not  well 
avoid  the  mention  of  this  new  day,  had  it  been 
true  that  another  day  had  become  the  Sabbath  of 

»Dr.  Bloomfield  has  the  following  note  on  this  text :  *'  The 
words,  elc  ro  /xeTafu  aaftiS.,  are  by  many  commentators  sup- 
posed to  mean  'on  some  intermediate  week-day.'  But  that 
is  refuted  by  verse  44,  and  the  sense  expressed  in  our  com- 
mon version  is,  no  doubt,  the  true  one.  It  is  adopted  by  the 
best  recent  commentators,  and  confirmed  by  the  ancient  ver- 
sions." Greek  Testament  with  English  notes,  vol.  i.  p.  521. 
And  Prof.  Hackct  has  a  similar  note. — Commentary  on  Acts, 
p.  238.  -  Verses  42-44. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  169 

the  Lord.  4.  That  as  this  second  meeting  per- 
tained ahnost  wholly  to  Gentiles,  it  cannot  be 
said  in  this  case  that  Paul  preached  upon  the 
Sabbath  out  of  regard  to  the  Jews.  On  the 
contrary,  the  narrative  strongly  indicates  Paul's 
regard  for  the  Sabbath  as  the  proper  day  for  di- 
vine worship.  5.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the 
Sabbath  was  well  understood  by  the  Gentiles  in 
this  city,  and  that  they  had  some  degree  of  re- 
gard for  it,  a  fact  which  will  be  corroborated  by 
other  texts. 

Several  years  after  these  things,  the  apostles 
assembled  at  Jerusalem  to  consider  the  question 
of  circumcision."^  "Certain  men  which  came 
down  from  Judea,"  finding  the  Gentiles  uncir- 
cumcised,  had  "taught  the  brethren,  and  said, 
Except  ye  be  circumcised  after  the  manner  of 
Moses  ye  cannot  be  saved.'  Had  they  found  the 
Gentiles  neglecting  the  Sabbath,  unquestionably 
this  would  have  first  called  out  their  rebuke.  It 
is  indeed  worthy  of  notice  that  no  dispute  at  this 
time  existed  in  the  church  relative  to  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath ;  for  none  was  brought  before 
this  apostolic  assembly.  Yet  had  it  been  true 
that  the  change  of  the  Sabbath  was  then  advo- 
cated, or  that  Paul  had  taught  the  Gentiles  to 
neglect  the  Sabbath,  without  doubt  those  who 
brought  up  the  question  of  circumcision  would 
have  urged  that  of  the  Sabbath  with  even  greater 
earnestness.  That  the  law  of  Moses,  the  observ- 
ance of  which  was  under  discussion  in  this  as- 
sembly, is  not  the  ten  commandments,  is  evident 
from  several  decisive  facts.  1.  Because  that 
Peter  calls  the  code  under  consideration  a  yoke 

lActsir.. 


170  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABHATH. 

which  neither  their  fathers  nor  themselves  were 
able  to  bear.  But  James  expressly  calls  that 
royal  law,  which,  on  his  own  showing,  embodies 
the  ten  commandments,  a  law  of  liberty.  2.  Be- 
cause that  this  assembly  did  decide  against  the 
authority  of  the  law  of  Moses ;  and  yet  James, 
who  was  a  member  of  this  body,  did  some  years 
afterward  solemnly  enjoin  obedience  to  the  com- 
mandments, affirming  that  he  who  violated  one 
was  guilty  of  all.  ^  3.  Because  the  chief  feature 
in  the  law  of  Moses  as  here  presented  was  cir- 
cumcision," But  circumcision  was  not  in  the  ten 
commandments ;  and  were  it  true  that  the  law  of 
Moses  includes  these  commandments,  circumcision 
would  not  in  that  case  be  a  chief  feature  of  that 
law.  4,  Finally,  because  that  the  precepts  still 
declared  obligatory  are  not  properly  either  of  the 
ten  commandments.  These  were,  first,  the  pro- 
hibition of  meats  offered  to  idols ;  second,  of 
blood  ;  tliird,  of  things  strangled ;  and  fourth,  of 
fornication.-^  Each  of  these  precepts  may  be 
often  found  in  the  books  of  Moses,*  and  the  first 
and  last  ones  come  under  the  second  and  seventh 
commandments  respectively ;  but  neither  of  these 
cover  but  a  part  of  that  which  is  forbidden  in 
either  commandment.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  the  authority  of  the  ten  commandments  was 
not  under  consideration  in  this  assembly,  and 
that  the  decision  of  that  assembly  had  no  relation 
to  those  precepts.  For  otherwise  the  apostles 
released  the  Gentiles  from  all  obligation  to  eight 


1  Acta  15  :  10,  28,  20  ;  James  2 :  8-12. 

2  Verses  1,  5.  "  Verse  29  ;  21 :  25. 
*  Ex.  34  :  15,  16  ;  Num.  25  :  2  ;  Lev.  17  :  1\  14  ;  Uen.  '.i  :  4  ;   L? 

3  :  17  ;  (Jen.  U  ;  Lev.  19  :  29. 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.        171 

of  the  ten  commandments,  and  from  the  greater 
prohibitions  contained  in  the  other  two. 

It  is  evident  that  those  greatly  err  who  repre- 
sent the  Gentiles  as  released  from  the  obligation 
of  the  Sabbath  by  this  assembly.  The  question 
did  not  come  before  the  apostles  on  this  occasion ; 
a  strong  proof  that  the  Gentiles  had  not  been 
taught  to  neglect  the  Sabbath,  as  they  had  to 
omit  circumcision,  which  was  the  occasion  of  its 
being  brought  before  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem. 
Yet  the  Sabbath  was  referred  to  in  this  very 
assembly  as  an  existing  institution,  and  that,  too, 
in  connection  with  the  Gentile  Christians.  Thus 
when  James  pronounced  sentence  upon  the  ques- 
tion, he  used  the  following  language  : — 

**  Wherefore  my  sentence  is,  that  we  trouble  not  them, 
which  from  among  the  Gentiles  are  turned  to  God ;  but 
that  we  write  unto  them,  that  they  abstain  from  pollu- 
tions of  idols,  and  from  fornication,  and  from  things 
strangled,  and  from  blood.  For  Moses  of  old  time  hath 
in  every  city  them  that  preach  him,  being  read  in  the 
synagogues  every  Sabbath  day."^ 

This  last  fact  is  given  by  James  as  a  reason  for 
the  course  proposed  toward  the  brethren  among 
the  Gentiles.  "For  Moses  of  old  time  hath  in 
every  city  them  that  preach  him,  being  read  in 
the  synagogues  every  Sabbath  day."  From  this 
it  is  apparent  that  the  ancient  custom  of  divine 
worsliip  upon  the  Sabbath  was  not  only  preserved 
by  the  Jewish  people  and  carried  with  them  into 
every  city  of  the  Gentiles,  but  that  the  Gentile 
Christians  did  attend  these  meetings.  Otherwise 
the  reason  assigned  by  James  would  lose  all  its 
force,  as  having  no  application  to  this  case.  That 
they  did  attend  them  strongly  attests  the  Sabbath 

1  Acts  15: 19-21. 


172  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

as  the  day  of  divine  worship  with  the  Gentile 
churches. 

That  the  ancient  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  had  nei- 
ther been  abrogated  nor  changed  prior  to  this 
meeting  of  the  apostles,  is  strongly  attested  by 
the  nature  of  the  dispute  here  adjusted.  And  the 
close  of  their  assembly  beheld  the  Bible  Sabbath 
still  sacredly  enthroned  within  the  citadel  of  the 
fourth  commandment.  After  this,  in  a  vision  of 
the  night,  Paul  was  called  to  visit  Macedonia.  In 
obedience  to  this  call  he  came  to  Philippi,  which 
is  the  chief  city  of  that  part  of  Macedonia.  Thus 
Luke  records  the  visit : — 

"And  we  were  in  that  city  abiding  certain  days.  And 
on  the  Sabbath  we  went  out  of  the  city  by  a  river  side, 
where  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made  ;  and  we  sat  down, 
and  spake  unto  the  women  which  resorted  thither.  And 
a  certain  woman  named  Lydia,  a  seller  of  purple,  of  the 
city  of  Thyatira,  which  worshiped  God,  heard  us  ;  whose 
heart  the  Lord  opened,  that  she  attended  unto  the  things 
which  were  spoken  of  Paul."^ 

This  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  gathering 
of  Jews,  but  of  Gentiles,  who,  like  Cornelius,  were 
worshipers  of  the  true  God.  Thus  it  is  seen  that 
the  church  of  the  Philippians  originated  with  a 
pious  assembly  of  Sabbath -keeping  Gentiles.  And 
it  is  likely  that  Lydia  and  those  employed  by  her 
in  business,  who  were  evidently  observers  of  the 
Sabbath,  were  the  means  of  introducing  the  gos- 
pel into  their  own  city  of  Thyatira. 

*'  Now  when  they  had  passed  through  Amphipolis  and 
Apollonia,  they  came  to  Thessalonica,  where  was  a  syna- 
gogue of  the  Jews.     And  Paul,  as  his  manner  was,  '^  went 


lActs  10:12-14. 

2  Paul's  manner  is  exemplified  by  the  following  texts,  in  all  of 
whicli  it  would  appear  that  the  meetings  in  question  were  upon 
theSabhatli.     Acts  13:.".;  14:1;   17:10, 'l7;   \-<:\'.\;   l;i:8. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  173 

in  unto  them,  and  three  Sabbath  days  reasoned  with  them 
out  of  the  Scriptures.  .  .  ,  And  some  of  them  be- 
lieved, and  consorted  with  Paul  and  Silas  ;  and  of  the  de- 
vout Greeks  a  great  multitude,  and  of  the  chief  women 
not  a  few."' 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Thessalonian  church. 
That  it  was  an  assembly  of  Sabbath-keepers  at 
its  beorinninof  admits  of  no  doubt.  For  besides 
the  few  Jews  who  received  the  gospel  through 
the  labors  of  Paul,  there  was  a  great  multitude 
of  devout  Greeks ;  that  is,  of  Gentiles  who  had 
united  themselves  with  the  Jews  in  the  worship 
of  God  upon  the  Sabbath.  We  have  a  strong 
,  proof  of  the  fact  that  they  continued  to  observe 
the  Sabbath  after  their  reception  of  the  gospel  in 
the  following  words  of  Paul  addressed  to  them  as 
a  church  of  Christ : — 

"For  ye,  brethren,  became  followers  of  the  churches  of 
God  which  in  Judea  are  in  Christ  Jesus."- 

The  churches  in  Judea,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
observers  of  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  The  first 
Thessalonian  converts,  before  they  received  the 
gospel,  were  Sabbath-keepers,  and  when  they 
becam.e  a  Christian  church  they  adopted  the 
churches  in  Judea  as  their  proper  examples. 
And  this  church  was  adopted  as  an  example  by 
the  churches  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia.  In  this 
number  were  included  the  churches  of  Philippi 
and  of  Corinth.     Thus  writes  Paul : — 

"  And  ye  became  followers  of  us,  and  of  the  Lord,  hav- 
ing received  the  word  in  much  affliction,  with  joy  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  so  that  ye  were  ensampl^s  to  all  that  believe 
in  Macedonia  and  Achaia.  For  from  you  sounded  otit 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  not  only  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia, 

1  Acts  17 : 1-4.  2 1  Thess.  2 :  14. 


174  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAEBATH. 

but  also  in  every  place  your  faitli  to  God  ward  is  spread 
abroad."^ 

After  these  things,  Paul  came  to  Corinth.  Here, 
he  first  found  Aquila  and  Priscilla. 

' '  And  because  he  was  of  the  same  craft,  he  abode  with 
them  and  wrought ;  for  by  their  occupation  they  were  tent- 
makers.  And  he  reasoned  in  the  synagogue  eveiy  Sab- 
bath, and  persuaded  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks, "- 

At  this  place  also  Paul  found  Gentiles  as  well 
as  Jews  in  attendance  upon  the  worship  of  God 
on  the  Sabbath.  The  first  members  of  the  church 
at  Corinth  were  therefore  observers  of  the  Sab- 
bath at  the  time  when  they  received  the  gospel ; 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  they  adopted  as  their  pat- 
tern the  Sabbath-keeping  churcli  of  Thessalonica, 
who  in  turn  patterned  after  the  churches  in  Judea. 

The  first  churches  were  founded  in  the  land  of 
Judea.  All  their  members  liad  from  childhood 
been  familiar  with  the  law  of  God,  and  well  un- 
derstood the  precept,  "Remember  the  Sabbath 
day,  to  keep  it  holy."  Besides  this  precept,  all 
these  churches  had  a  peculiar  memento  of  the  Sab- 
bath. They  knew  from  our  Lord  himself  that 
the  time  was  coming  when  they  must  all  sud- 
denly flee  from  that  land.  And  in  view  of  this 
fact,  they  were  to  pray  that  the  moment  of  their 
sudden  flight  might  not  be  upon  the  Sabbath  ;  a 
prayer  which  was  designed,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
preserve  the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath.  That 
the  churches  in  Judea  were  composed  of  Sab- 
bath-keeping members,  admits  therefore  of  no 
doubt. 

Of  the  churches  founded  outside  the  land  of 
Judea,  whose  origin  is  given  in  the  book  of  Acts, 

■IThcss.  1:7.  s.  lAft.sls:;;,  4. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  175 

nearly  all  began  with  Jewish  converts.  These 
were  Sabbath-keepers  when  they  received  the 
gospel.  Among  these,  the  Gentile  converts  were 
engrafted.  And  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  in  a 
large  number  of  cases,  those  Gentiles  are  termed 
"  devout  Greeks,"  "  religious  proselytes,"  persons 
that  ''  worshiped  God,"  that  feared  God  and  that 
"prayed  to  God  alway."^  These  Gentiles,  at  the 
time  of  their  conversion  to  the  gospel,  were,  as  we 
have  seen,  worshipers  of  God  upon  the  Sabbath 
with  the  Jewish  people.  When  James  had  pro- 
posed the  kind  of  letter  that  should  be  addressed 
by  the  apostles  to  the  Gentile  converts,  he  as- 
signed a  reason  for  its  adoption,  the  force  of  which 
can  now  be  appreciated:  "For  Moses,"  said  he, 
"of  old  time  hath  in  every  city  them  that  preach 
him,  being  read  in  the  synagogue  every  Sabbath 
day."  The  Sabbatarian  character  of  the  apostolic 
churches  is  thus  clearly  shown. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Corinthians,  about 
five  years  after  they  had  received  the  gospel,  Paul 
is  supposed  to  contribute  a  fifth  pillar  to  the  first- 
day  temple.     Thus  he  wrote  them  : — 

"Now  concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I 
have  given  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  even  so  do 
ye.  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  let  every  one  of  you 
lay  by  him  in  store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him,  that 
there  be  no  gatherings  when  I  come."" 

From  this  text  it  is  argued  in  behalf  of  the 
first-day  Sabbath,  1.  That  this  was  a  public  col- 
lection. 2.  That  hence  the  first  day  of  the  week 
was  the  day  of  public  worship  in  the  churches  of 
Corinth  and  Galatia.     3.  And  therefore  that  the 

lAets  10:2,  i,  7.  22,  oO-Go;  13:40;  14:1;  16:13-15;  17:1, 
10-12.  2  1  Cur.  10:1,  2. 


176  iiiSToiiY  ov  TIM-:  sA];i5A'ri[. 

Sabbath  had  been  changed  to  that  day.  Thus 
the  change  of  the  Sabbath  is  inferred  from  the 
public  assemblies  for  divine  worship  on  the  first 
day  at  Corinth  and  Galatia ;  and  the  existence  of 
these  assemblies  on  that  day  is  inferred  from  the 
words  of  Paul,  "  Upon  the  first  da}^  of  the  week, 
let  every  one  of  you  lay  hij  hvni  in  store." 

What,  then,  do  these  words  ordain  ?  But  one 
answer  can  be  returned :  They  ordain  precisely 
the  reverse  of  a  public  collection.  Each  one 
should  lay  by  himself  on  each  first  day  of  the 
week  according  as  God  had  prospered  him,  that 
when  Paul  should  arrive,  they  might  have  their 
bounty  ready.  Mr.  J.  W.  Morton,  late  Presby- 
terian missionary  to  Hayti,  bears  the  following 
testimony: — 

"The  whole  question  turns  upon  the  meaning  of  the 
expression,  'by  him;'  and  I  marvel  greatly  how  you  can 
imagine  that  it  means  '  in  the  collection  box  of  the  con- 
gregation.' Greenfield,  in  his  Lexicon,  translates  the 
Greek  term,  '  With  one's  self,  i.  e.,  at  home.'  Two  Latin 
versions,  the  Vulgate  and  that  of  Castellio,  render  it, 
' cqmd  se,'  with  one's  self;  at  home.  Three  French 
translations,  those  of  Martin,  Osterwald,  and  De  Sacy, 
^  chez  soi,' a.t  his  own  house;  at  home.  The  German  of 
Luther,  '  hei  sich  selhst,'  by  himself ;  at  home.  The  Dutch, 
'by  hemselveu;'  same  as  the  German.  The  Italian  of 
Diodati,  *■  appresso  di  sc,'  in  his  own  presence;  at  home. 
The  Spanish  of  Felippe  Scio,  'en  m  casa,' in  his  own 
house.  The  Portugese  of  Ferreira,  '2^^^'^  i^'.so, '  with  him- 
self.    The  Swedish,  '  mtr  sig  self,'  near  himself."^ 

Dr.  Bloomfield  thus  comments  on  the  original : 
''Trap  eavTu,  'by  him.'  French,  clicz  lid,  'at 
home.' "  ^ 

The  Douay  Bible  reads  :  "  Let  every  one  of  you 


1  Vindication  of  the  True  Sabbath,  Battle  Creek  ed.,  pp.  51,  52. 
'Greek  Testament  with  English  Notes,  vol.  ii.  p.  173. 


IN    Tin:    DAYS    OF    THi:    APOSTLES.  1m 

put  Pvpart  with  himself."  Mr.  Sawyer  thus  trans- 
lates :  "  Let  each  one  of  you  lay  aside  by  himself." 
Theodore  Beza's  Latin  version  has  it :  "  Apud  s<?/' 
i  €.,  at  home.  The  Syriac  reads  thus  :  "  Let  ev- 
ery one  of  you  lay  aside  and  preserve  at  home." 
It  is  true  that  aii  eminent  first-day  writer, 
Justin  Edwards,  D.  D.,  in  a  labored  effort  to  prove 
the  chanore  of  the  Sabbath,  brinors  forward  this 
text  to  show  that  Sunday  was  the  day  of  relig- 
ious worship  with  the  early  church.  Thus  he 
says  :— 

''  This  laying  by  in  store  was  not  laying  by  at  home  ; 
for  that  would  not  prevent  gatherings  when  he  should 
come."  ^ 

Such  is  his  language  as  a  theologian  upon 
whom  has  fallen  the  difficult  task  of  proving  the 
change  of  the  Sabbath  by  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures.  But  in  his  Notes  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  which  he  feels  at  liberty  to  speak  the 
truth,  he  thus  squarely  contradicts  his  own 
language  already  quoted.  Thus  he  comments  on 
this  text : — 

"Lay  by  him  in  store;  at  home.  That  there  be  no 
gatherings  ;  that  their  gifts  might  be  ready  when  the 
apostle  should  come."- 

Thus  even  Dr.  Edwards  confesses  that  the  idea 
of  a  public  collection  is  not  found  in  this  scripture. 
On  the  contrary,  it  appears  that  each  individual, 
in  obedience  to  this  precept,  would,  at  the  opening 
of  each  new  week,  be  found  at  home  laying  aside 
something  for  the  cause  of  God,  according  as  his 
worldly  affairs  would  warrant.  The  change  of 
the  Sabbath,  as  proved  by  this  text,  rests  wholly 

1  Sabbath  Manual  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  p.  116. 

2  Family  Testament  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  p.  280. 


178  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

upon  an  idea  which  Dr.  Edwards  confesses  is  not 
found  in  it.  We  have  seen  that  the  church  at 
Corinth  was  a  Sabbath-keeping  church.  It  is 
evident  that  the  chancre  of  the    Sabbath  could 

o 

never  have  been  suggested  to  them  by  this  text. 

This  is  the  only  scripture  in  which  Paul  even 
mentions  the  first  da}^  of  the  week.  It  was 
written  nearly  thirty  years  after  the  alleged 
change  of  the  Sabbath.  Yet  Paul  omits  all  titles 
of  sacredness,  simply  designating  it  as  first  day  of 
the  week  ;  a  name  to  which  it  was  entitled  as 
one  of  "  the  six  working  days."  ^  It  is  also  worthy 
of  notice  that  this  is  the  only  precept  in  the  Bible 
in  which  the  first  day  is  even  named  ;  and  that 
this  precept  says  nothing  relative  to  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  day  to  which  it  pertains ;  even  the 
duty  which  it  enjoins  being  more  appropriate  to 
a  secular  than  to  a  sacred  day. 

Soon  after  writing  his  first  epistle  to  the  Cor- 
inthians, Paul  visited  Troas.  In  the  record  of 
this  visit  occurs  the  last  instance  in  which  the 
first  day  of  the  week  is  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament: — 

''And  we  sailed  away  from  Philippi  after  the  days  of 
unleavened  bread,  and  came  unto  them  to  Troas  in  five 
days ; "  where  we  abode  seven  days.  And  upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  when  the  disciples  came  together  to 
break  bread,  Paul  preached  unto  them,  ready  to  depart 
on  the  morrow ;  and  continued  his  speech  until  midnight. 
And  there  were  many  lights  in  the  upper  chamber,  where 


'  Eze.  4«  :  1. 

2  Prof.  Racket  remarks  ou  the  length  of  this  voyage:  "The 
passage  on  the  apostle's  first  journey  to  Europe  occupied  two 
days  only  ;  see  cliapter  16:11.  Adverse  winds  or  calms  would  be 
liable,  at  any  season  of  the  year,  to  occasion  tins  variation." — 
Commentary  on  Acts,  p.  3'20.  *  This  shows  how  little  ground  there 
is  to  claim  that  Paul  broke  the  S:ibbath  on  this  voyage.  There 
was  ample  time  to  reach  Troas  befoie  the  h>abbalh  wIumi  he 
started  t'roni  Philip|)i,  liad  not  pro\  iilontial  causes  liiudorcd. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  179 

tliey  were  gathered  together.  And  there  sat  in  a  v/indow 
a  certain  young  man  named  Eutychus,  being  fallen  into 
a  deep  sleep ;  and  as  Paul  was  long  preaching,  he  sunk 
down  Avith  sleep,  and  fell  down  from  the  third  loft,  and 
was  taken  up  dead.  And  Paul  went  down,  and  fell  on 
him,  and  embracing  him  said,  Trouble  not  yourselves  ; 
for  his  life  is  in  him.  When  he  therefore  was  come  up 
again,  and  had  broken  bread,  and  eaten,  and  talked  a 
long  while,  even  till  break  of  day,  so  he  departed.  And 
they  brought  the  young  man  alive,  and  were  not  a  little 
comforted.  And  we  went  before  to  ship,  and  sailed  unto 
Assos,  there  intending  to  take  in  Paul ;  for  so  had  he 
appointed,  minding  himself  to  go  afoot.  "^ 

This  scripture  is  supposed  to  furnish  a  sixth 
pillar  for  the  first-day  temple.  The  argument 
may  be  concisely  stated  thus :  This  testimony 
shows  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  appro- 
priated by  the  apostolic  church  to  meetings  for 
the  breaking  of  bread  in  honor  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection upon  that  day ;  from  which  it  is  reason- 
able to  conclude  that  this  day  had  become  the 
Christian  Sabbath. 

If  this  proposition  could  be  established  as  an  un- 
doubted truth,  the  change  of  the  Sabbath  would 
not  follow  as  a  necessary  conclusion  ;  it  would 
even  then  amount  only  to  a  plausible  conjecture. 
The  following  facts  will  aid  us  in  judging  of  the 
truthfulness  of  this  arOTment  for  the  chancre  of 
the  Sabbath.  1.  That  this  is  the  only  instance 
of  a  religious  meeting  upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  2.  That 
no  stress  can  be  laid  upon  the  expression,  ''when 
the  disciples  came  together,"  as  proving  that 
meetings  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  bread  were 
held  on  each  first  day  of  the  week ;  for  there  is 
nothini::  in  the  oriorinal  answerinor  to  tlie  word 

'Acts  20: (5-13. 


180  HISTOKY    OF    TilK    SAHP.ATK. 

'"  w^Lcyi ;"  the  Avliole  phrase  bemg  translated  from 
three  words,  the  perfect  passive  participle  (n't-^r/^ei-wt/, 
"  being  assembled,"  and  ri^v  fxa^fjron',  "  the  disci- 
ples ;"  the  sacred  writer  simply  stating  the  gatli- 
ering  of  the  disciples  on  this  occasion.  ^  3.  That 
the  ordinance  of  breaking  bread  was  not  appoint- 
ed to  commemorate  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
but  to  keep  in  memory  his  death  upon  the  cross.  ^ 
The  act  of  breaking  bread  therefore  upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  is  not  a  commemoration  of 
Christ's  resurrection.  4.  That  as  the  breaking  of 
bread  commemorates  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  and 
was  instituted  on  the  evening  with  which  the 
crucifixion  day  began,  on  which  occasion  Jesus 
himself  and  all  the  apostles  were  present,  ^  it  is 
evident  that  the  day  of  the  crucifixion  presents 
greater  claims  to  the  celebration  of  this  ordinance 
than  does  the  day  of  the  resurrection.  5.  But  as 
our  Lord  designated  no  day  for  this  ordinance, 
and  as  the  apostolic  church  at  Jerusalem  are  re- 
corded to  have  celebrated  it  daily,  ^  it  is  evidently 
presumption  to  argue  the  change  of  the  Sabbath 
from  a  single  instance  of  its  celebration  upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  G.  That  this  instance  of 
breaking  bread  upon  first- day,  was  with  evident 
reference  to  the  immediate  and  final  departure  of 
Paul.  7.  For  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  this, 
the  only  instance  of  a  religious  meeting  on  the 
first  day  recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  was  a 
night  meeting.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact  tliat 
many  lights  were  burning  in  that  assembly,  and 
tliat  Paul  preached  till  midnight.  8.  And  from 
this  fact  follows  the  important  consequence  that 

1  Thus  Prof.  Whiting  renders  the  phrase  :  "  The  disciples  being 
assembled."     And  Sawver  has  it  :  **  We  being  assembled." 

2  1  Cor.  11:23-2(3.        '  ^  Matt.  26.  ■»  Acts  2:42-40. 


IX   THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  181 

this  first-day  meeting  was  upon  Saturday  night.  ^ 
For  the  days  of  the  week  being  reckoned  from 
evening  to  evening,  and  evening  being  at  sunset,  ^ 
it  is  seen  that  the  first  day  of  the  v/eek  begins 

iThis  fact  has  been  acknowledged  by  many  first-day  comment- 
ators. Thus  Prof.  Hacket  comments  upon  this  text  :  '"The  Jews 
reckoned  the  day  from  evening  to  morning,  and  on  that  principle 
the  evening  of  the  first  dav  of  the  week  would  be  our  Saturday 
evening.  If  Luke  reckoned  so  here,  as  many  commentators  sup- 
pose, the  apostle  then  waited  for  the  expiration  of  the  Jewish 
Sabbath,  and  held  his  last  religious  service  with  the  brethren  at 
Troas,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Sabbath,  i.  e.,  on  Satur- 
day evening,  and  consequently  resumed  his  journey  on  Sunday 
morning." — Commerdary  on  Acts,  pp.  3-JO,  380.  But  he  en- 
deavors to  shield  the  first-day  Sabbath  from  this  fatal  admission 
by  suggesting  that  Luke  probably  reckoned  time  according  to  the 
pagan  method,  rather  than  by  "that  which  is  ordained  in  the 
Scriptures  ! 

Kitto,  in  noting  the  fact  that  this  was  an  evening  meeting, 
speaks  thus  :  "  It  has  from  this  last  circumstance  been  inferred 
that  the  assembly  commenced  after  sunset  on  the  Sabbath,  at 
which  hour  the  first  day  of  the  week  had  commenced,  according 
to  the  Jewish  reckoning  [Jahn's  Bibl.  Antiq.,  sect.  SOS],  which  would 
hardly  agree  with  the  idea  of  a  commemoration  of  the  resurrec- 
tion."—  (Jlyclopedia  of  Biblical  Literature,  article,  Lord's  day. 

And  Prynne,  whose  testimony  relative  to  redemption  as  an 
argument  for  the  change  of  the  Sabbath  has  been  already  quoted, 
thus  states  this  point:  "Because  the  text  saith  there  were 
many  lights  in  the  upper  room  where  they  were  gathered  to- 
gether, and  that  Paul  preached  from  the  time  of  their  coming  togeth- 
er till  midnight,  .  .  .  this  meeting  of  the  disciples  at  Troas,  and 
Paul's  preaching  to  them,  began  at  evening.  The  sole  doubt  will 
be  what  evening  this  was.  .  .  .  For  my  own  part  I  conceive  clear- 
ly that  it  was  upon  Saturday  night,  as  we  falsely  call  it,  and  not 

the  coming  Sunday  night Because  St.  Luke  records  that 

it  was  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  when  this  meeting  was  .  .  . 
therefore  it  must  needs  be  on  the  Saturday,  not  on  our  Sunday 
evening,  since  the  Sunday  evening  in  St.  Luke's  and  the  Scripture 
account  was  no  part  of  the  first,  but  of  the  second  day ;  the  day 
ever  beginning  and  ending  at  evening." 

Prynne  notices  the  objection  drawn  from  the  phrase,  "ready  to 
depart  on  the  morrow,"  as  indicating  that  this  departure  was  not 
on  the  same  day  of  the  week  with  his  night  meeting.  The  sttb- 
stance  of  his  answer  is  this  :  If  the  fact  be  kept  in  mind  that  the 
days  of  the  week  are  reckoned  from  evening  to  evening,  the  fol- 
lowing texts,  in  which  in  the  night,  the  morning  is  spoken  of  as 
the  morrow,  will  show  at  once  that  another  day  of  the  week  is  not 
necessarily  intended  by  the  phrase  in  question.  1  Sam.  19  :  11  ; 
Esth.  2  :14;  Zenh.  3:3;  Acts  23:31,  b-2..—Dis^.  on  LorcVs  Day 
Sab.,  pp.  36-41,^1033. 

->('{•  tlio  cKUfliisiitn  i.f  chnii.  \\\\. 


182  HISTORY    OF    TIIK    SARKATH. 

Saturday  night  at  sunset,  and  ends  at  sunset  on 
Sunday.  A  night  meeting,  therefore,  upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week  could  be  only  upon  Satur- 
day night.  9.  Paul  therefore  preached  until 
midnight  of  Saturday  night — for  the  disciples 
held  a  night  meeting  at  the  close  of  the  Sabbath, 
because  he  was  to  leave  in  the  morning — then 
being  interrupted  by  the  fall  of  the  young  man, 
he  went  down  and  healed  him,  then  went  up  and 
attended  to  the  breaking  of  bread ;  and  at  break 
of  day,  on  Sunday  morning,  he  departed.  10. 
Thus  are  we  furnished  with  conclusive  evidence 
that  Paul  and  his  companions  resumed  their  jour- 
ney toward  Jerusalem  on  the  morning  of  the  first 
day  of  the  week ;  they  taking  ship  to  Assos,  and 
he  being  pleased  to  go  on  foot.  This  fact  is  an 
incidental  proof  of  Paul's  regard  for  the  Sabbath, 
in  that  he  waited  till  it  was  past  before  resuming 
his  journey;  and  it  is  a  positive  proof  that  he 
knew  nothing  of  what  in  modern  times  is  called 
the  Christian  Sabbath.  11.  This  narrative  was 
written  by  Luke  at  least  thirty  years  after  the 
alleged  change  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  Luke  omits  all  titles  of  sacredness, 
simply  designating  the  day  in  question  as  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  This  is  in  admirable 
keeping  with  the  fact  that  in  his  gospel,  when  re- 
cording the  very  event  which  is  said  to  have 
changed  the  Sabbath,  he  not  only  omits  the 
slightest  hint  of  that  fact,  but  designates  the  day 
itself  by  its  secular  title  of  first  day  of  the  week, 
and  at  the  same  time  designates  the  previous  day 
as  the  Sabbath  according  to  the  commandment.  ^ 

'Luke23:5tt:  2i  :1. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  183 

The  same  year  that  Paul  visited  Troas,  he 
wrote  as  follows  to  the  church  at  Rome  : — 

"Him  that  is  weak  in  the  faith  receive  ye,  but  not  to 
doubtful  disputations.  For  one  believeth  that  he  may- 
eat  all  things  :  another,  who  is  weak,  eateth  herbs.  Let 
not  him  that  eateth  despise  him  that  eateth  not  ;  and  let 
not  him  which  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth  ;  for  God 
hath  received  him.  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another 
man's  servant  ?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth. 
Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up,  for  God  is  able  to  make  him 
stand.  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another  :  an- 
other esteem eth  every  day  alike.  Let  every  man  be  fully 
persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  He  that  regardeth  the  day, 
regardeth  it  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  he  that  regardeth  not 
the  day,  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard  it.  He  that 
eateth,  eateth  to  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth  God  thanks  ; 
and  he  that  eateth  not,  to  the  Lord  he  eateth  not,  and 
giveth  God  thanks."^ 

These  words  have  often  been  quoted  to  show 
that  the  observance  of  the  fourth  commandment 
is  now  a  matter  of  indifference  ;  each  individual 
being  at  liberty  to  act  his  pleasure  in  the  matter. 
So  extraordinary  a  doctrine  should  be  thoroughly 
tested  before  being  adopted.  For  as  it  pleased 
God  to  ordain  the  Sabbath  before  the  fall  of  man, 
and  to  give  it  a  place  in  his  code  of  ten  command- 
ments, thus  making  it  a  part  of  that  law  to  which 
the  great  atonement  relates ;  and  as  the  Lord  Je- 
sus, during  his  ministry,  spent  much  time  in  ex- 
plaining its  merciful  design,  and  took  care  to  pro- 
vide ao^ainst  its  desecration  at  the  flio^ht  of  his 
people  from  the  land  of  Judea,  which  was  ten 
years  in  the  future  when  these  words  were  writ- 
ten by  Paul;  and  as  the  fourth  commandment 
itself  is  expi^essly  recognized  after  the  crucifixion 
of  Christ ;  if,  under  these  circumstances,  we  could 

1  Kora.  14:1-P. 


184  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

suppose  it  to  be  consistent  with  truth  that  the 
Most  High  should  abrogate  the  Sabbath,  we  cer- 
tainly should  expect  that  abrogation  to  be  stated 
in  explicit  language.  Yet  neither  the  Sabbath 
nor  the  fourth  commandment  are  here  named. 
That  they  are  not  referred  to  in  this  language  of 
Paul,  the  following  reasons  will  show  : — 

1.  Such  a  view  would  make  the  observance  of 
one  of  the  ten  commandments  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference ;  whereas  James  shows  that  to  violate  one 
of  them  is  to  transgress  the  whole.  ^  2.  It  di- 
rectly contradicts  what  Paul  had  previously  writ- 
ten in  this  epistle ;  for  in  treating  of  the  law  of 
ten  commandments,  he  styles  it  holy,  spiritual, 
just,  and  good;  and  states  that  sin — the  trans- 
gression of  the  law — by  the  commandment  be- 
comes "  EXCEEDING  SINFUL."-  3.  Because  that 
Paul  in  the  same  epistle  affirms  the  perpetuity  of 
that  law  which  caused  our  Lord  to  lay  down  his 
life  for  sinful  men  f  which  we  have  seen  before 
was  the  ten  commandments.  4.  Because  that 
Paul  in  this  case  not  only  did  not  name  the  Sab- 
bath and  the  fourth  commandment,  but  certainly 
was  not  treating  of  the  moral  law.  5.  Because 
that  the  topic  under  consideration  which  leads 
him  to  speak  as  he  docs  of  the  days  in  question 
was  that  of  eating  all  kinds  of  food,  or  of  refrain- 
ing^ from  certain  thinors.  6.  Because  that  the 
fourth  commandment  did  not  stand  associated 
with  precepts  of  such  a  kind,  but  with  moral  laws 
exclusively.^  7.  Because  that  in  the  ceremonial 
law,  associated  with  the  precepts  concerning 
meats,  was  a  large  number  of  festivals,  entirely 


'  James  2:!^  12.  "lloni.  7:12,  13;  1  John  0:4,  5. 

U..IT1.  ;;.  '  Kx.  2<\ 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  185 

distinct  from  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.^  8.  Be- 
cause that  the  church  of  Rome,  which  began 
probably  ^dth  those  Jews  that  were  present  from 
Rome  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  had  many  Jewish 
members  in  its  communion,  as  may  be  gathered 
from  the  epistle  itself;  ^  and  would  therefore  be 
deeply  interested  in  the  decision  of  this  question 
relative  to  the  ceremonial  la.w;  the  Jewish  mem- 
bers feeling  conscientious  in  observing  its  dis- 
tinctions, the  Gentile  members  feeling  no  such 
scruples :  hence  the  admirable  counsel  of  Paul 
exactly  meeting  the  case  of  both  classes.  9.  Nor 
can  the  expression,  '•'  every  day,"  be  claimed  as 
decisive  proof  that  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  is 
included.  At  the  very  time  when  the  Sabbath 
was  formally  committed  to  the  Hebrews,  just 
such  expressions  were  used,  although  only  the 
six  working  days  were  intended.  Thus  it  was 
said :  "  The  people  shall  go  out  and  gather  a  cer- 
tain rate  every  day;"  and  the  narrative  says, "They 
gathered  it  every  morning."  Yet  when  some  of 
them  went  out  to  gather  on  the  Sabbath,  God 
says,  "  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  command- 
ments and  my  laws  ?"^  The  Sabbath  being  a 
great  truth,  plainly  stated  and  many  times  re- 
peated, it  is  manifest  that  Paul,  in  the  expression, 
"  every  day,"  speaks  of  the  six  working  days, 
among  which  a  distinction  had  existed  precisely 
coeval  with  that  respecting  meats ;  and  that  he 
manifestly  excepts  that  day  which  from  the  be- 
ginning God  had  reserved  unto  himself  Just  as 
when  Paul  quotes  and  applies  to  Jesus  the  words 

'  Lev.  23.  These  are  particularly  enumerated  in  Col.  2,  as  we 
have  already  noticed  in  chapter  vii,  and  in  the  concluding  part  of 
chapter  x.  "-  Acts  2 : 1-1 1 ;  Rom  2: 17;  4:1;  7:1. 

3  Ex.  16:4,  21,  27,  2'<. 

Sabbath  Tlistorv.  13 


186  HISTOIiV    OF    TIIK    SAHHATH. 

of  David,  "All  things  are  put  under  him,"  ho 
adds  :  "  It  is  manifest  that  he  is  excepted  which 
did  put  all  things  under  him."^  10.  And  lastly, 
in  the  words  of  John, "  I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the 
Lord's  day,"^  written  many  years  after  this  epis- 
tle of  Paul,  we  have  an  absolute  proof  that  in  the 
gospel  dispensation  one  day  is  still  claimed  by  the 
Most  High  as  his  own.^ 

About  ten  years  after  this  epistle  was  written, 
occurred  the  memorable  flight  of  all  the  people  of 
God  that  were  in  the  land  of  Judea.  It  Avas  not 
in  the  winter ;  for  it  occurred  just  after  the  feast 
of  tabernacles,  some  time  in  October.  And  it  was 
not  upon  the  Sabbath  ;  for  Josephus,  who  speaks 
of  the  sudden  withdrawal  of  the  Roman  army 
after  it  had,  by  encompassing  the  city,  given  the 
very  signal  for  flight  which  our  Lord  promised 
his  people,  tells  us  that  the  Jews  rushed  out  of 
the  city  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Romans, 
which  was  at  the  very  time  when  our  Lord's  in- 
junction of  instant  flight  became  imperative  upon 
the  disciples.  Tlie  historian  does  not  intimate 
that  the  Jews  thus  pursued  the  Romans  upon 
the  Sabbath,  although  he  carefully  notes  the  fact 
that  a  few  days  previous  to  this  event  they  did, 
in  their  rage,  utterly  forget  the  Sabbath  and  rush 

1 1  Cor.  15 :  27  ;  Ps.  8.  "-  Rev.  1 :  10. 

3  To  show  that  Paul  regarded  Sabbatic  observance  as  dangerous. 
Gal.  4:  10,  is  often  quoted;  notwitli.standins^  the  same  individuals 
claim  that  Rom.  14  proves  that  it  is  a  matter  of  pcvfect  indiffer- 
ence  ;  they  not  seeing  that  this  is  to  make  Paul  contradict  himself. 
But  if  the"  connection  be  read  from  verse  8  to  verse  11,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  Galatians  before  their  conversion  were  not  Jews,  but 
heathen  :  and  that  these  days,  months,  times,  and  years,  were  not 
those  of  the  Levitical  law,"  but  those  which  thoy  had  regarded 
with  superstitious  reverence  while  heathen.  Observe  the  stress 
which  Paul  lays  upon  the  word  "  again,"  in  verse  9.  And  how 
many  that  profess  the  religion  of  Christ  at  the  present  day  super- 
stiticusly  regard  certain  days  as  "lucky"  or  "  unlucky  days;" 
though  such  notions  are  derived  only  from  heathen  diBtinctions. 


IX    Tin:    DAYS    01'    THE    A^'^STL^:S.  187 

out  to  light  the  Romans  upon  that  day.  These 
providential  circumstances  in  the  flight  of  the  dis- 
ciples being  made  dependent  upon  their  asking 
such  interposition  at  the  hand  of  God,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  disciples  did  not  forget  the  prayer 
which  the  Saviour  taught  them  relative  to  this 
event ;  and  that,  as  a  consequence,  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord  was  not  forgotten  by  them.  And  thus 
the  Lord  Jesus  in  his  tender  care  for  his  people 
and  in  his  watchful  care  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath, 
showed  that  he  was  alike  the  Lord  of  his  people 
and  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.^ 

Twenty-six  years  after  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  book  of  Revelation  was  committed  to 
the  beloved  disciple.  It  bears  the  following 
deeply  interesting  date  as  to  place  and  time  : — 

' '  I  Jolm,  who  also  am  your  brother,  and  companion  in 
tribulation,  and  in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus 
Christ,  was  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos,  for  the 
word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Clirist.  I 
was  in  the  Spirit  ox  the  Lord's  day,  and  heard  behind 
me  a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,  saying,  I  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last ;  and,  What  thou  seest, 
write  in  a  book."- 

This  book  is  dated  in  the  isle  of  Patmos,  and 
upon  the  Lord's  day.  The  place,  the  day,  and 
the  individual,  have  each  a  real  existence,  and 
not  merely  a  symbolical  or  mystical  one.  Thus 
John,  almost  at  the  close  of  the  first  century,  and 
long  after  those  texts  were  written  which  are 
now  adduced  to  prove  that  no  distinction  in  days 
exists,  shows  that  the  Lord's  day  has  as  real  an 
existence,  as  has  the  isle  of  Patmos,  or  as  had 
the  beloved  disciple  himself 

What  day,  then,  is  intended  by  this  designa- 

>  See  ehaptcr  x.  -  Rev.  1 :  9-11. 


188  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

tion  ?  Several  answers  have  been  returned  to 
this  question.  1.  It  is  the  gospel  dispensation. 
2.  It  is  the  day  of  Judgment.  3.  It  is  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  4.  It  is  the' Sabbath  of  the 
Lord.  The  first  answer  cannot  be  the  true  one ; 
for  it  not  only  renders  the  day  a  mystical  term, 
but  it  involves  the  absurdity  of  representing 
John  as  writing  to  Christians  sixty-live  years 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  that  the  vision  which 
he  had  just  had,  was  seen  by  him  in  the  gospel 
dispensation ;  as  though  it  were  possible  for  them 
to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  if  he  had  a  vision 
at  aU  he  must  have  it  in  the  existing  dispensation. 

Nor  can  the  second  answer  be  admitted  as  the 
truth.  For  while  it  is  true  that  John  might 
have  a  vision  concerning  the  day  of  Judgment, 
it  is  impossible  that  he  should  have  a  vision  ON 
that  day  when  it  was  yet  future.  If  it  be  no 
more  than  an  absurdity  to  represent  John  as 
datinor  his  vision  in  the  isle  of  Patmos,  on  the 
gospel  dispensation,  it  becomes  a  positive  untruth, 
if  he  is  made  to  say  that  he  was  in  vision  at  Pat- 
mos on  the  day  of  Judgment. 

The  third  answer,  that  the  Lord's  day  is  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  is  now  almost  universally 
received  as  the  truth.  The  text  under  examina- 
tion is  brought  forward  with  an  air  of  triumph 
as  completing  the  temple  of  first-day  sacredness, 
and  proving  beyond  all  doubt  that  that  day  is 
indeed  the  Christian  Sabbath.  Yet  as  we  have 
examined  this  temple  with  peculiar  carefulness, 
we  have  discovered  that  the  foundation  on  which 
it  rests  is  a  thing  of  the  imagination  only ;  and 
that  the  pillars  by  which  it  is  supported  exist 
only  in  the  minds  of  those  who  worship  at  its 
shrine.     It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  tho  dome 


IX    THi:    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  189 

which  is  supposed  to  be  furnished  by  this  text  is 
more  real  than  the  pillars  on  which  it  rests. 

That  the  first  day  of  the  week  has  no  claim  to 
the  title  of  Lord's  day,  the  following  facts  will 
show:  1.  That,  as  this  text  does  not  define  the 
terra  Lord's  day,  we  must  look  elsewhere  in  the 
Bible  for  the  evidence  that  shows  the  first  day  to 
be  entitled  to  sucli  a  designation.  2.  That  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke,  and  Paul,  the  otlier  sacred 
writers  who  mention  the  day,  use  no  other  desig- 
nation for  it  than  first  day  of  the  week,  a  name  to 
which  it  was  entitled  as  one  of  the  six  working 
days.  Yet  three  of  these  writers  mention  it  at 
the  very  time  when  it  is  said  to  have  become  the 
Lord's  day;  and  two  of  them  mention  it  also 
some  thirty  years  after  that  event.  8.  That 
while  it  is  claimed  that  the  Spirit  of  inspiration, 
by  sim_ply  leading  John  to  use  the  term  Lord's 
day,  though  he  did  in  no  wise  connect  the  first 
day  of  the  week  therewith,  did  design  to  fix  this 
as  the  proper  title  of  the  first  day  of  the  vreek,  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  after  John  returned 
from  the  isle  of  Patmos  he  wrote  his  gospel ;  ^  and 

1  Dr.  Bloomfield,  though  himself  of  a  diflFerent  opinion,  speaks 
thns  of  the  views  of  others  concerniug  the  date  of  John's  gospel: 
"  It  has  been  the  general  sentiment,  both  of  ancient  and  modern 
inquirers,  that  it  was  published  about  t/)e  clo.se  of  the  first  cent: 
uryy — Greek  Testament  ivith  English  i\'otes,  vol.'  i.  p.  328. 

Morer  sajs  that  John  "penned  his  gospel  two  years  later  than 
the  Apocalypse,  and  after  bis  return  Irom  Patmos,  as  St.  Augus- 
tine, St.  Jerome,  and  Eusebius,  affirm." — Dialogues  on  the  Lord's 
Day,  pp.  53,  54. 

The  Paragraph  Bible  of  the  London  Religious  Tract  Society,  in 
itsprefacoto  the  book  of  John,  speaks  thus  :  *'  According  to  the 
general  testimony  of  ancient  writers,  John  v»'rote  his  gospel  at 
Ephesus,  about  the  year  97." 

In  support  of  the  same  view,  see  also  Religious  Encyclopedia, 
Barnes'  Notes  (gospels),  Bible  Dictionary,  Cottage  Bible,  Domes- 
tic Bible,  Mine  Explored,  Union  Bible  Dictionary,  Comprehensive 
Bible,  Dr.  Hales,  Home,  Xevins,  OLshauseu,  «fcc. 


190  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

in  that  gospel  he  twice  mentioned  the  first  day 
of  the  week ;  yet  in  each  of  these  instances  where 
it  is  certain  that  first-day  is  intended,  no  other 
designation  is  used  than  plain  first  day  of  the 
week.  This  is  a  most  convincing  proof  that  John 
did  not  regard  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  enti- 
tled to  this  name,  or  any  other,  expressive  of 
sacredness.  4.  What  still  further  decides  the 
point  against  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  tlie  fact 
that  neither  the  Father  nor  the  Son  have  ever 
claimed  the  first  day  in  any  higher  sense  than 
they  liave  eacli  of  the  six  days  given  to  man  for 
labor.  5.  And  what  completes  tlie  chain  of 
evidence  against  the  claim  of  first  day  to  this 
title  is  the  fact  that  the  testimony  adduced  by 
first-day  advocates  to  prove  that  it  has  been 
adopted  by  the  Most  High  in  place  of  that  day 
which  he  once  claimed  as  his,  having  been  exam- 
ined, is  found  to  have  no  such  meaning  or  intent. 
In  setting  aside  the  third  answer,  also,  as  not 
being  in  accordance  with,  truth,  the  first  day  of 
the  week  may  be  properly  dismissed  with  it,  as 
having  no  claim  to  our  regard  as  a  scriptural 
institution.  ^ 

iThe  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  in  its  article  concerning  the 
Sabbath,  undertakes  to  prove  that  the  "religious  observation  ol" 
the  lirst  day  of  the  week  is  of  apostolical  appointment."  After 
citing  and  commenting  upon  all  the  passages  that  could  be  urged 
in  proof  of  the  point,  it  makes  the  following  candid  acknowledg- 
ment: "Still,  however,  it  must  be  owned  that  these  passages  are 
not  sufficient  to  prove  the  apostolical  mstitution  of  the  Lord's  day, 
or  even  the  actual  observation  of  it." 

The  absence  of  all  scriptural  testimony  relative  to  the  change 
of  the  Sabbath,  is  accounted  for  by  certain  advocates  of  that  the- 
ory, not  by  the  frank  admission  that  it  never  was  cliangcd  by  the 
LoVd,  butby  quoting  Jolin  21:25,  assuming  the  change  of  the 
Sabbath  as  an  undoubted  truth,  but  that  it  was  left  out  of  llie 
liible  lest  it  should  make  that  book  too  large  !  They  think,  there- 
fore, that  we  sliould  go  to  Kcclesiastic:il  history  to  Icarn;.this  piirt 
of  our  duty  ;    not  treeing  that,  ns  the  fourth  comniandmciu^still 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  191 

That  the  Lord's  clay  is  the  Bible  Sabbath,  ad- 
mits of  clear  and  certain  proof.  The  argument 
stands  thus  :  When  God  g-ave  to  man  six  days  of 
the  week  for  labor,  he  did  expressly  reserve  unto 
himself  the  seventh,  on  which  he  placed  his 
blessing  in  memory  of  his  own  act  of  resting 
upon  that  day,  and  thenceforward,  through  the 
Bible,  has  ever  claimed  it  as  his  holy  day.  As  he 
has  never  put  away  this  sacred  day  and  chosen 
another,  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  is  still  his  holy 
day.  These  facts  may  be  traced  in  the  following 
scriptures.  At  the  close  of  the  Creator's  rest,  it 
is  said : — 

*' And  God  blessed  the  seventli  day,  and  sanctified  it : 
because  that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work  which 
God  created  and  made."  ^ 

After  the  children  of  Israel  had  reached  the 
wilderness  of  Sin,  Moses  said  to  them  on  the 
sixth  day  : — 

' '  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath  unto  the 
Lord."  - 

In  giving  the  ten  commandments,  the  Law- 
giver thus  stated  his  claim  to  this  day : — 

"The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God. 
.  .  .  .  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the 
seventh  day :  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  hallowed  it."  ^ 

He  gives  to  man  the  six  days  on  which  himself 

stands  in  the  Bible  unrepealed  and  unchanged,  to  acknowledore 
that  that  change  must  be  sustained  wholly  outside  of  the  Bible,  is 
to  acknowledge  that  tirst-day  observance  is  a  tradition  which 
makes  void  the  commandment  of  God.  The  following  chapters 
will,  however,  patiently  examine  the  argument  for  first-day  ob- 
servance drawn  from  ecclesiastical  history. 

»  Gen.  2  :  3.  -^  Ex.  16  :  28.        ^  ^  Ex.  20:  8-11. 


192  ]IIST(>11Y    OF    THE    SABHATH. 

Jiad  labored;  he  reserves  as  his  own  that  day 
upon  which  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work. 
About  eight  hundred  years  after  this,  God  spoke 
by  Isaiah  as  follows  : — 

''  If  tliou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath,  from 
doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day,  .  .  .  then  shalt 
thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord  ;  and  I  will  cause  thee 
to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth,"  ^ 

This  testimony  is  perfectly  explicit ;  the  Lord's 
day  is  the  ancient  Sabbath  of  the  Bible.  The 
Lord  Jesus  puts  forth  the  following  claim : — 

"The  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath."  - 

Thus,  whether  it  be  the  Father  or  the  Son 
whose  title  is  involved,  the  only  day  that  can  be 
called  "the  Lord's  day  "is  the  Sabbath  of  the 
great  Creator.^  And  here,  at  the  close  of  the 
Bible  history  of  the  Sabbath,  two  facts  of  deep 
interest  are  presented:  1.  That  John  expressly 
recognizes  the  existence  of  the  Lord's  day  at  the 
very  close  of  the  first  century.  2.  That  it  pleased 
the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  to  place  a  signal  honor 
upon  his  own  day  in  that  he  selected  it  as  the 
one  on  which  to  give  that  revelation  to  John, 
which  himself  alone  had  been  worthy  to  receive 
from  the  Father. 


1  Isa.  58 :  13,  U.  -  Mark  2 :  27,  28. 

3  An  able  opj>onent  of  Sabbatic  observance  thus  speaks  relative 
to  the  term  Lord's  day  of  Rev.  1:10:  "If  a  current  day  was  in- 
tended, the  only  day  bearing  this  definition,  in  either  the  Old 
or  New  Testament,  is  Saturday,  the  seventh  day  of  the  week." — 
W.  B.  Taylor,  i/o  the  ObligLitloii  of  the  Subbatk,  p.  296. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SABBATH, 


PART   II— SECULAR    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

EARLY   APOSTASY   IN    THE   CHURCH. 

General  purity  of  the  apostolic  churches — Early  decline  of 
their  piety — False  teachers  arose  in  the  church  immedi- 
ately after  the  apostles — The  great  Romish  apostasy  began 
before  the  death  of  Paul — An  evil  thing  not  rendered  good 
by  beginning  in  the  apostolic  age — How  to  decide  between 
truth  and  error — Age  cannot  change  the  fables  of  men 
into  the  truth  of  God — Historical  testimony  concerning  the 
early  development  of  the  great  apostasy — Such  an  age  no 
standard  by  which  to  correct  the  Bible — Testimony  of 
Bower  relative  to  the  traditions  of  this  age — Testimony  of 
Dowling — Dr.  Cumming's  opinion  of  the  authority  of  the 
fathers — Testimony  of  Adam  Clarke — The  church  of  Rome 
has  corrupted  the  writings  of  the  fathers — Nature  of  tra- 
dition illustrated — The  two  rules  of  faith  which  divide 
Christendom— The  first-day  Sabbath  can  only  be  sustained 
by  adopting  the  rule  of  the  Romanists. 

The  book  of  Acts  is  an  inspired  history  of  the 
church.  During  the  period  which  is  embraced 
in  its  record,  the  apostles  and  their  fellow-laborers 
were  upon  the  stage  of  action,  and  under  their 
watchcare  the  churches  of  Christ  preserved,  to  a 
great  extent,  their  purity  of  life  and  doctrine. 
These  apostolic  churches  are  thus  set  forth  as  the 
proper  examples  for  all  coming  time.  This  book 
titly  connects  the  narrativ^es  of  the  four  evangel- 
ists with  the  apostolic  epistles,  and  thus  joins 
together  the  whole  New  Testament.     But  when 


194  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

we  leave  the  period  embraced  in  this  inspired 
history,  and  the  churches  which  were  founded 
and  governed  by  inspired  men,  we  enter  upon 
altogether  different  times.  There  is,  unfortu- 
nately, great  truth  in  the  severe  language  of 
Gibbon : — 

"  The  theologian  may  indulge  the  pleasing  task  of  de- 
scribing religion  as  she  descended  from  Heaven,  arrayed 
in  her  native  purity.  A  more  melancholy  duty  is  imposed 
on  the  historian.  He  must  discover  the  inevitable  mixt- 
ure of  error  and  corruption,  which  she  contracted  in  a 
long  residence  upon  earth,  among  a  weak  and  degenerate 
race  of  beings."  ^ 

What  says  the  bouk  of  Acts  respecting  tlie 
time  immediately  following  the  labors  of  Paul  ? 
In  addressing  the  elders  of  the  Ephesian  church, 
Paul  said  : — 

' '  For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  departing  shall  griev- 
ous wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock. 
Also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  per- 
verse things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them."- 

It  follows  from  this  testimony  that  wo  are  not 
authorized  to  receive  the  teaching  of  any  man 
simply  because  he  lived  immediately  after  the 
apostolic  age,  or  even  in  the  days  of  the  apostles 
themselves.  Grievous  wolves  were  to  enter  the 
midst  of  the  people  of  God,  and  of  their  own 
selves  Avere  men  to  arise,  speaking  perverse 
things.  If  it  be  asked  how  these  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  true  servants  of  God,  this  is 
the  pro]:)er  answer :  Those  who  spoke  and  acted 
in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  the  apostles 
were  men  of  God ;   those  who  tauglit  otherwise 


'  DccJinc  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chap.  xv. 

-  Art**  'JO:  29,  oO. 


EARLY    APOSTASY    IN    THE    CHURCH.  195 

were   of  tliat   class  wlio  should  speak  perverse 
things  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them. 

What  say  the  apostolic  epistles  relative  to  this 
apostasy  ?     To  the  Thessalonians,  it  is  written: — 

"Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means  ;  for  tliat  day 
shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and 
that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition ;  who 
opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called 
God,  or  that  is  vforshiped ;  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in 
the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God.  .  .  . 
For  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work  ;  only  he 
who  now  letteth  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the 
Avay.  And  then  shall  that  wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and 
shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming," 

To  Timothy,  in  like  manner,  it  is  said : — 

''Preach  the  word  ;  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season  ; 
reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and  doc- 
trine. For  the  time  will  come  when  they  will  not  endure 
sound  doctrine ;  but  after  their  own  lusts  shall  they  heap 
to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears;  and  they 
shall  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  truth,  and  shall  be 
turned  unto  fables."  - 

These  texts  are  most  explicit  in  predicting  a 
great  apostasy  in  the  church,  and  in  stating  the 
fact  that  that  apostasy  had  already  commenced. 
The  Romish  church,  the  eldest  in  apostasy,  prides 
itself  upon  its  apostoUc  character.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians,  already 
quoted,  that  great  Antichristian  body  may  in- 
deed find  its  claim  to  an  origin  in  apostolic  times 
vindicated,  but  its  apostolic  character  most  em- 
phatically denied.  And  herein  is  found  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  an  evil  thing  is  not 
rendered  good  by  the  accidental  circumstance  of 

12  Thcss.  2:;;,  1,  T,  8. 

-  2  Tim.  -1:  -J  1 ;  J  Tot.  •_' ;  Jndc  i  ;  1  John  2:  18. 


19<)  HISTORY    OF    Tin:    SAHFiATH. 

its  origiuOvting  in  the  days  of  the  apostles.  ICv- 
ery  thing,  at  its  commencement,  is  either  right  or 
wrong.  If  right,  it  may  be  known  by  its  agree- 
ment Y>^ith  the  divine  standard.  If  wrong  at  its 
origin,  it  can  never  cease^to  be  such.  Satan's 
great  falsehood  which  involved  our  race  in  ruin 
has  not  yet  become  the  truth,  although  six  thou- 
sand years  have  elapsed  since  it  v/as  uttered. 
Think  of  this,  ye  who  worship  at  the  shrine  of 
venerable  erroi*.  When  the  fables  of  men  ob- 
tained the  place  of  the  truth  of  God,  he  was 
thereby  dishonored.  How,  then,  can  he  accept 
obedience  to  them  as  any  part  of  that  pure  devo- 
tion which  he  requires  at  our  hands  ?  They  that 
worship  God  must  worship  him  in  Spirit  and  in 
truth.  How  many  ages  must  pass  over  the  fables 
of  men  before  they  become  changed  into  divine 
truth  ?  That  these  predictions  of  the  Nevv^ 
Testament  respecting  the  great  apostasy  in  the 
church  were  fully  realized,  the  pages  of  ecclesias- 
tical history  present  ample  proof.  Mr.  Dowling, 
in  his  History  of  Romanism,  bears  the  following- 
testimony  : — 

* '  There  is  scarcely  anything  which  strikes  the  mind  of 
the  careful  student  of  ancient  ecclesiastical  history  with 
greater  surprise  than  the  comparatively  early  x^eriod  at 
which  many  of  the  corruptions  of  Christianity,  which  are 
embodied  in  the  Romish  system,  took  their  rise ;  yet  it  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  when  the  first  originators  of  many 
of  these  unscriptural  notions  and  practices  planted  those 
germs  of  corruption,  they  anticipated  or  even  imagined 
they  would  ever  groAv  into  such  a  vast  and  hideous  system 

of  superstition  and  error,  as  is  that  of  popery 

Each  of  the  great  corruptions  of  the  latter  ages  took  its 
rise  in  a  manner  which  it  would  be  harsh  to  say  was  de- 
serving of  strong  reprehension The  worship 

of  images,  the  invocation  of  saints,  and  the  superstition 
of  relics,  were  luit  expansions  of  the  natural  feelings  of 


EARLY    APOSTASY    IX    THE    CHURCH.  197 

veneration  and  affection  cherished  toward  the  memory  of 
those  who  had  suffered  and  died  for  the  truth."  ^ 

Robinson,  author  of  the  "  History  of  Baptism," 
bears  the  following  testimony : — 

"  Toward  tlie  latter  end  of  the  second  century  most  of 
the  churches  assumed  a  new  form,  the  first  simplicity  dis- 
appeared ;  and  insensibly,  as  the  old  disciples  retired  to 
their  graves,  their  children  along  with  new  converts,  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  came  forward  and  new  modeled  the 
cause."" 

The  working  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity  in  the 
first  centuries  of  the  Christian  chui'ch  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  a  recent  writer : — 

"During  these  centuries  the  chief  corruptions  of  popery 
were  either  introduced  in  principle,  or  the  seeds  of  them 
so  effectually  sown  as  naturally  to  produce  those  baneful 
fruits  which  appeared  so  plentifully  at  a  later  period.  In 
Justin  Martyr's  time,  within  fifty  years  of  the  apostolic 
age,  the  cup  was  mixed  with  water,  and  a  portion  of  the 
elements  sent  to  the  absent.  The  bread,  which  at  first 
was  sent  only  to  the  sick,  was,  in  the  time  of  Tertullian 
and  Cyprian,  carried  home  by  the  jjeople  and  locked  up 
as  a  divine  treasure  for  their  private  use.  At  this  time, 
too,  the  ordinance  of  the  supper  was  given  to  infants  of 
the  tenderest  age,  and  vras  styled  the  sacrifice  of  the  body 
of  Christ.  The  custom  of  praying  for  the  dead,  Tertullian 
states,  was  common  in  the  second  century,  and  became 
the  universal  practice  of  the  following  ages ;  so  that  it 
came  in  the  fourth  century  to  be  reckoned  a  kind  of  her- 
esy to  deny  the  efficacy  of  it.  By  this  time  the  invocation 
of  saints,  the  superstitious  use  of  images,  of  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  and  of  consecrated  oil,  were  become  established 
practices,  and  pretended  miracles  were  confidently  ad- 
duced in  proof  of  their  supposed  efficacy.  Thus  did  that 
mystery  of  iniquity,  which  Vv^as  already  Avorking  in  the 
time  of  the  apostles,  speedily  after  their  departure,  spread 
its  corruptions  among  the  professors  of  Christianity."" 

1  Book  ii.  chap.  i.  sect.  1. 

2  Eccl.  Researches,  chap.  vi.  p.  51,  cd.  1792. 
•The  Modern  Sabbath  Examined,  pp.  123,  12i. 


10"^  HISTOJIV    OK    THK    SAIMJATfl. 

Neander  .s})eaks  thus  of  the  early  iiitroJuctioii 
of  image  worshi})  : — 

"And  yet,  perliaps,  religious  images  made  their  way 
from  domestic  life  into  the  churches,  as  early  as  the  end 
of  the  third  century  ;  and  the  walls  of  the  churches  were 
painted  in  the  same  way."^ 

The  early  apostasy  of  the  professed  church  is 
a  fact  which  rests  upon  the  authority  of  inspira- 
tion, not  less  than  upon  that  of  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory. "The  mystery  of  iniquity,"  said  Paul, 
"doth  already  work."  We  are  constrained  to 
marvel  that  so  large  a  portion  of  the  people  of 
God  were  so  soon  removed  from  the  orrace  of  God 

o 

unto  another  gospel. 

What  shall  be  said  of  those  who  go  to  this  pe- 
riod of  church  history,  and  even  to  later  times, 
to  correct  their  Bibles  ?  Paul  said  that  men 
would  rise  in  the  very  midst  of  the  elders  of  the 
apostolic  church,  who  would  speak  perverse 
things,  and  that  men  would  turn  away  their  ears 
from  the  truth,  and  would  be  turned  unto  fables. 
Are  the  traditions  of  this  period  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  make  void  God's  word  ?  The  learned 
historian  of  the  popes,  Archibald  Bower,  uses  the 
following  emphatic  language : — 

"  To  avoid  being  imposed  iipon,  we  ought  to  treat  tra- 
dition as  we  do  a  notorious  and  known  liar,  to  whom  we 
give  no  credit,  unless  what  he  says  is  confirmed  to  us  by 

some  person  of  undoubted  veracity False  and 

lying  traditions  are  of  an  early  date,  and  the  greatest  men 
have,  out  of  a  pious  credulity,  suffered  themselves  to  be 
imposed  upon  by  them.'"" 

Mr.  Dowling  bears  a  similar  testimony : — 

» Rose's  Neander,  p.  18i. 

2Hi?t.  of  t>ie  Pope?,  vol.  i.  p.  1,  Phila.  ed..  1S17. 


EARLY    APOSTASY    IX    THK    CHURCH.  199 

''  '•The  Bible,  I  say,  the  Bible  only,  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants  !'  Nor  is  it  of  any  account  in  the  estimation 
of  the  genuine  Protestant  how  early  a  doctrine  originated, 
if  it  is  not  found  in  the  Bible.  He  learns  from  the  New 
Testament  itself  that  there  Avere  errors  in  the  time  of  the 
apostles,  and  that  their  pens  were  frequently  employed 
in  combating  those  errors.  Hence,  if  a  doctrine  be  pro- 
pounded for  his  acceptance,  he  asks,  Is  it  to  be  found  in 
the  inspired  word  1     Was  it  taught  by  the    Lord  Jesus 

Christ  and  his  apostles  ? More  than  this,  we 

will  add,  that  though  Cyprian,  or  Jerome,  or  Augustine, 
or  even  the  fathers  of  an  earlier  age,  Tertullian,  Ignatius, 
or  Irenseus,  could  be  plainly  shown  to  teach  the  unscript- 
ural  doctrines  and  dogmas  of  Popery,  which,  however,  is 
by  no  means  admitted,  still  the  consistent  Protestant 
woidd  simply  ask.  Is  the  doctrine  to  be  found  in  the  Bi- 
ble ?     Was  it  taught  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  ? 

He  who  receives  a  single  doctrine  upon  the  mere  author- 
ity of  tradition,  let  liim  be  called  by  what  name  he  will, 
by  so  doing  steps  down  from  the  Protestant  rock,  passes 
over  the  line  which  separates  Protestantism  from  Popery, 
and  can  give  no  valid  reason  why  he  should  not  receive 
all  the  earlier  doctrines  and  ceremonies  of  Romanism 
upon  the  same  authority."^ 

Dr.  Gumming  of  London  thus  speaks  of  the 
authority  of  the  fathers  of  the  early  church  : — 

"Some  of  these  were  distinguished  for  their  genius, 
some  for  their  eloquence,  a  few  for  their  piety,  and  too 
many  for  their  fanaticism  and  superstition.  It  is  recorded 
by  Dr.  Delahogue  (who  was  Professor  in  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic College  of  Maynooth),  on  the  authority  of  Eusebius, 
that  the  fathers  who  were  really  most  fitted  to  be  the  lu- 
minaries of  the  age  in  which  they  lived,  were  too  busy  in 
preparing  their  flocks  for  martyrdom  to  commit  anything 
to  writing ;  and,  therefore,  by  the  admission  of  this 
Roman  Catholic  divine,  we  have  not  the  full  and  fair  ex- 
ponent of  the  views  of  all  the  fathers  of  the  earlier  cent- 
uries, but  only  of  those  who  .were  most  ambitious  of  lit- 
erary distinction,  and  least  attentive  to  their  charges.  .   . 

The  most  devoted  and  pious  of  the  fathers  were 

busy  teaching  their  flocks  ;  the  more  vain  and  ambitious 

»  History  of  Romanism,  book  ii.  chap.  i.  sexts.  8,  4. 


200  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

occupied  tlieir  time  in  preparing  treatises.  If  all  the 
fathers  who  signalized  the  age  had  committed  tlieir  senti- 
ments to  writing,  we  might  have  had  a  fair  representation 
of  the  theology  of  the  church  of  the  fathers  ;  but  as  only 
a  few  have  done  so  (many  even  of  their  writings  being 
mutilated  or  lost),  and  these  not  the  most  devoted  and 
spiritually  minded,  I  contend  that  it  is  as  unjust  to  judge 
of  the  theology  of  the  early  centuries  by  the  writings  of 
the  iew  fathers  who  are  its  only  survi^dng  representatives, 
as  it  would  be  to  judge  of  the  theology  of  the  nineteenth 
century  by  the  sermons  of  Mr.  Newman,  the  speeches  of 
Dr.  Candlish,  or  the  various  productions  of  the  late  Ed- 
ward Irving."^ 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke  bears  the  following  decisive 
testimony  on  the  same  subject : — 

' '  But  of  these  we  may  safely  state  that  there  is  not  a 
truth  in  the  most  orthodox  creed  that  cannot  be  proved 
by  their  authority  ;  nor  a  heresy  that  has  disgraced  the 
Romish  church,  that  may  not  challenge  them  as  its  abet- 
tors. In  points  of  doctrine,  their  authority  is,  with  me, 
nothing.  The  word  of  God  alone  contains  my  creed. 
On  a  number  of  points  I  can  go  to  the  Greek  and  Latin 
fathers  of  the  church  to  know  what  they  believed;  and 
what  the  people  of  their  respective  communions  believed  : 
but  after  all  this,  I  must  return  to  God's  word  to  know 
what  he  would  have  me  to  believe."" 

In  his  life,  he  uses  the  folio  win  f^  stronj^  lan- 


' '  We  should  take  heed  how  we  quote  the  fathers  in 
proof  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  ;  because  he  who 
knows  them  best,  knows  that  on  many  of  those  subjects 
they  blow  hot  and  cold."^ 

The  following  testimonies  will  in  part  explain 
the  unreliable  nature  of  the  fathers.  Thus  Ephraim 
Pagitt  testifies : — 

''  The  church  of  Rome  having  been  conscious  of  tlieir 
errors  and  corruptions,  both  in  faith  and  manners,  have 

»  Lectures  on  Romanism,  p.  203.       »  Commentary  on  Trov.  8. 
^  Autolii-»2;riinliy  of  Adam  Clarke,  Lb.  1).,  p.  134. 


EARLY    APOSTASY    IN    THE    CHURCH.  201 

sundry  times  pretended  reformations ;  yet  their  great 
pride  and  infinite  profit,  arising  from  purgatory,  pardons, 
and  such  like,  hath  hindered  all  such  reformations. 
Therefore,  to  maintain  their  greatness,  errors,  and  new 
articles  of  faith,  1.  They  have  corrupted  many  of  the  an- 
cient fathers,  and  reprinting  them,  make  them  speak  as 

they   would   have   them 2.    They   have   written 

many  books  in  the  names  of  these  ancient  writers,  and 
forged  many  decrees,  canons,  and  councils,  to  bear  false 
witness  to  them,"' 

And  Wm.  Eeeves  testifies  to  the  same  fact : — 

"  The  church  of  Rome  has  had  all  the  opportunities  of 
time,  place,  and  power,  to  establish  the  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness; and  that  in  coining,  clipping,  and  washing,  the 
primitive  records  to  their  own  good  liking,  they  have  not 
been  wanting  to  themselves,  is  notoriously  evident.  "- 

The  traditions  of  the  early  church  are  consid- 
ered by  many  quite  as  reliable  as  the  language 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  A  single  instance  taken 
from  the  Bible  will  illustrate  the  character  of 
tradition,  and  show  the  amount  of  reliance  that 
can  be  placed  upon  it : — 

''Then  Peter,  turning  about,  seeth  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,  following  (which  also  leaned  on  his  breast 
at  supper,  and  said.  Lord,  which  is  he  that  betraj^eth 
thee?)  ;  Peter  seeing  him,  saith  to  Jesus,  Lord,  and  what 
shall  this  man  do?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  If  I  will  that 
he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee?  Follow  thou 
me.  Then  v/ent  this  saying  abroad  among  the  brethren, 
that  that  disciple  should  not  die  ]  yet  Jesus  said  not  unto 
him.  He  shall  not  die ;  but,  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  tiU.  I 
come,  what  is  that  to  thee?" " 

Here  is  the  account  of  a  tradition  which  act- 
ually originated  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  apos- 
tolic church,  which  nevertheless  handed  down  to 

1  Christianographj,  part  ii.  p.  50,  London,  1036. 

2  Translation  of  the  Apologies  of  Justin  Martyr,  Tcrtullian,  and 
others,  vol.  ii.  p.  3To.  "^  John  21 : 2(W2o. 

Sa'jbatli  H!3torv.  1  -J 


202  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  following  generations  an  entire  mistake.  Ob- 
serve how  carefully  the  word  of  God  corrects  this 
error. 

Two  rules  of  faith  really  embrace  the  whole 
Christian  world.  One  of  these  is  the  word  of 
God  alone ;  the  other  is  the  word  of  God  and  the 
traditions  of  the  church.     Here  they  are  : — 

I.      THE    RULE    OF   THE    MAN   OF    GOD,  THE    BIBLE   ALONE. 

' '  All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is 
profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  in- 
struction in  righteousness  ;  that  the  man  of-  God  may  be 
perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works."  ^ 

II.       THE    RULE    OF    THE   ROMANIST,  THE    BIBLE   AND 
TRADITION. 

''If  we  would  have  the  whole  rule  of  Christian  faith 
and  practice,  we  must  not  be  content  with  those  scriptures 
which  Timothy  knew  from  his  infancy,  that  is,  with  the 
Old  Testament  alone ;  nor  yet  with  the  New  Testament, 
without  taking  along  with  it  the  traditions  of  the  apostles, 
and  the  interpretation  of  the  church,  to  which  the  apos- 
tles delivered  both  the  book  and  the  true  meaning  of  it."  - 

It  is  certain  that  the  first-da}^  Sabbath  cannot 
be  sustained  by  the  first  of  these  rules ;  for  the 
word  of  God  says  nothing  respecting  such  an  in- 
stitution. The  second  of  these  rules  is  necessarily 
adopted  by  all  those  who  advocate  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  first  day  of  the  week.  For  the  writ- 
ings of  the  fathers  and  the  traditions  of  the 
church  furnish  all  the  testimony  which  can  be 
adduced  in  support  of  that  day.  To  adopt  the 
first  rule  is  to  condemn  the  first-day  Sabbath 
as  a  human  institution.  To  adopt  the  second 
is  virtually  to  acknowledge  that  the  Roman- 
ists are  right;    for  it  is  by  this  rule  that  they 

1  2  Tim.  8  :  10,  17. 

2  Note  of  tke  Douay  IJiblo  on  2  Tim.  n  :  10,  17. 


EARLY    APOSTASY    IX    THE    CHURCH.  203 

are  able  to  sustain  tlieir  unscriptural  dogmas. 
Mr.  W.  B.  Taylor,  an  able  anti-Sabbatarian  writ- 
er, states  this  point  with  great  clearness  : — 

"  The  triumph  of  the  consistent  Roman  Catholic  over 
all  observers  of  Sunday,  calling   themselves  Protestants, 

is  indeed  complete  and  unanswerable It  should 

present  a  subject  of  very  grave  reflection  to  Christians  of 
the  reformed  and  evangelical  denominations,  to  find  that 
no  single  argument  or  suggestion  can  be  offered  in  favor  of 
Sunday  observance,  that  will  net  apply  with  equal  force 
and  to  its  fullest  extent  in  sustaining  the  various  other 
'  holy  days '  appointed  by  '  the  church.'  "  ^ 

Listen  to  tlie  arorument  of  a  Roman  Catholic : — 

' '  The  word  of  God  commandeth  the  seventh  day  to  be 
the  Sabbath  of  our  Lord,  and  to  be  kept  holy :  you 
[Protestants]  without  any  precept  of  Scripture,  change  it 
to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  only  authorized  by  our  tra- 
ditions. Divers  English  Puritans  opj)ose  against  this 
point,  that  the  observation  of  the  first  day  is  proved  out 
of  Scripture,  where  it  is  said  ^  the  first  day  of  the  week, ' " 
Have  they  not  spun  a  fair  thread  in  quoting  these  places  ? 
If  we  should  produce  no  better  for  purgatory  and  prayers 
for  the  dead,  invocation  of  the  saints,  and  the  like,  they 
might  have  good  cause  indeed  to  laugh  us  to  scorn ;  for 
where  is  it  written  that  these  were  Sabbath  days  in  which 
those  meetings  were  kept  ?  Or  where  is  it  ordained  they 
should  be  always  observed  ?  Or,  which  is  the  sum  of  all, 
where  is  it  decreed  that  the  observation  of  the  first  day 
should  abrogate  or  abolish  the  sanctifying  of  the  seventh 
day,  which  God  commanded  everlastingly  to  be  kept  ho- 
ly ?  Not  one  of  those  is  exDressed  in  the  written  word 
of  God."  ^ 

Whoever  therefore  enters  the  lists  in  behalf  of 
the  first-day  Sabbath,  must  of  necessity  do  this 
— though  perhaps  not  aware  of  the  fact — under 
the  banner  of  the  church  of  Rome. 

1  Obligation  of  the  Sabbath,  pp.  254,  255. 

2  Acts  20  :  7  ;  1  Cor.  16:2;  Rev.  1  :  10. 

3  A  Treatise  of  Thirty  Controversies. 


204:  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE  Sunday-lord's  day  not  teaceable  to 

THE   APOSTLES. 

General  statement  respecting  the  Ante-Nicene  fathers — The 
change  of  the  Sabbath  never  mentioned  by  one  of  these 
fathers — Examination  of  the  historical  argument  for  Sun- 
day as  the  Lord's  day  —  This  argument  compared  with 
the  like  argument  for  the  Catholic  festival  of  the  Passover. 

^  The  Ante-Nicene  fathers  are  those  Christian 
writers  who  flourished  after  the  time  of  the  apos- 
tles, and  before  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  325. 
Those  who  govern  their  lives  by  the  volume  of 
Inspiration  do  not  recognize  any  authority  in 
these  fathers  to  change  any  precept  of  that  book, 
nor  any  authority  in  them  to  add  any  new  pre- 
cepts to  it.  But  those  whose  rule  of  life  is  the 
Bible  as  modified  by  tradition,  regard  the  early 
fathers  of  the  church  as  nearly  or  quite  equal  in 
authority  with  the  inspired  writers.  They  de- 
clare that  the  fathers  conversed  with  the  apos- 
tles ;  or  if  they  did  not  do  this,  they  conversed 
with  some  who  had  seen  some  of  the  apostles ; 
or  at  least  they  lived  within  a  few  generations  of 
the  apostles,  and  so  learned  by  tradition,  which 

1  The  writer  has  prepared  a  small  work  entitled,  "The  Com- 
plete Testimony  of  the  Fathers  of  the  first  Three  Centuries  con- 
cerninj^  the  Sabbath  and  First  Day,"  in  which,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Origen,  some  of  whose  works  were  not  at  that  time 
accessible,  every  passage  in  the  fathers  which  gives  their  views  of 
the  Sabbath  and  first-day  is  presented.  This  pamphlet  can  be 
had  of  the  publishers  of  the  present  work  for  fifteen  cents.  To 
save  space  in  this  History,  a  general  statement  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  fathers  is  here  made  with  brief  quotations  of  their  words. 
But  in  "The  Complete  Testimony  of  the  Fathers"  every  pas- 
sage is  given  in  their  own  words,  and  to  this  little  work  the  reader 
is  referred. 


SUN  day-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  205 

involved  only  a  few  transitions  from  father  to 
son,  what  was  the  true  doctrine  of  the  apostles. 

Thus  with  perfect  assurance  they  supply  the 
lack  of  inspired  testimony  in  behalf  of  the  so- 
called  Christian  Sabbath  by  plentiful  quotations 
from  the  early  fathers.  What  if  there  be  no  men- 
tion of  the  change  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  New 
Testament  ?  And  what  if  there  be  no  command- 
ment for  resting  from  labor  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week  ?  Or,  what  if  there  be  no  method  re- 
vealed in  the  Bible  by  which  the  first  day  of  the 
week  can  be  enforced  by  the  fourth  command- 
ment ?  They  supply  these  serious  omissions  in 
the  Scriptures  by  testimonies  which  they  say 
were  wiitten  by  men  who  lived  during  the  first 
three  hundred  years  after  the  apostles. 

On  such  authority  as  this  the  multitude  dare 
to  chanore  the  Sabbath  of  the  fourth  command- 

o 

ment.  But  next  to  the  deception  under  which 
men  fall  when  they  are  made  to  believe  that  the 
Bible  may  be  corrected  by  the  fathers,  is  the  de- 
ception practiced  upon  them  as  to  what  the  fa- 
thers actually  teach.  It  is  asserted  that  the  fa- 
thers bear  explicit  testimony  to  the  change  of  the 
Sabbath  by  Christ  as  a  historical  fact,  and  that 
they  knew  that  this  was  so  because  they  had 
conversed  with  the  apostles,  or  with  some  who 
had  conversed  with  them.  It  is  also  asserted 
that  the  fathers  called  the  first  day  of  the  week 
the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  that  they  refrained 
from  labor  on  that  day  as  an  act  of  obedience  to 
the  fourth  commandment. 

Now  it  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that  every 
one  of  these  assertions  is  false.  The  people  who 
trust  in  the  fathers  as  their  authority  for  depart- 


206  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ing  from  God's  commandment  are  miserably  de- 
ceived as  to  what  the  fathers  teach. 

1.  The  fathers  are  so  far  from  testifying  that 
the  apostles  told  them  Christ  changed  the  Sab- 
bath, that  not  even  one  of  them  ever  alludes  to 
the  idea  of  such  a  change. 

2.  No  one  of  them  ever  calls  the  first  day  the 
Christian  Sabbath,  nor  indeed  ever  calls  it  a  Sab- 
bath of  any  kind. 

3.  They  never  represent  it  as  a  day  on  which 
ordinary  labor  was  sinful ;  nor  do  they  represent 
the  observance  of  Sunday  as  an  act  of  obedience 
to  the  fourth  commandment. 

4.  The  modern  doctrine  of  the  change  of  the 
Sabbath  was  therefore  absolutely  unknown  in 
the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  church.  ^ 

But  thouo^h  no  statement  assertinor  the  chancre 
of  the  Sabbath  can  be  produced  from  the  writ- 
ings of  the  fathers  of  the  first  three  hundred 
years,  it  is  claimed  that  their  testimony  furnishes 
decisive  proof  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  is 
the  Lord's  day  of  Rev.  1 :  10.  The  biblical  argu- 
ment that  the  Lord's  day  is  the  seventh  day  and 
no  other,  because  that  day  alone  is  in  tlie  Holy 
Scriptures  claimed  by  the  Father  and  the  Son 
as  belonging  in  a  peculiar  sense  to  each,  is  given 
in  chapter  eleven,  and  is  absolutel}^  decisive.  But 
this  is  set  aside  without  answer,  and  the  claim  of 
the  first  day  to  this  honorable  distinction  is  sub- 
stantiated out  of  the  fathers  as  follows  : — 

The  term  Lord's  day  as  a  name  for  the  first 
day  of  the  week  can  be  traced  back  through  the 

1  Those  who  dispute  these  statements  are  invited  to  present  the 
words  of  the  fathers  which  modify  or  disprove  thein.  Tlie  reader 
who  may  not  have  access  to  the  writings  of  the  fiithers  is  referred 
to  the  pamphlet  already  mentioned  in  which  their  complete  testi- 
mony is  given. 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  207 

first  three  centuries,  from  the  fathers  who  lived 
toward  their  close,  to  the  ones  next  preceding  who 
mention  the  first  day,  and  so  backward  by  suc- 
cessive steps  till  we  come  to  one  who  lived  in 
John's  time,  and  was  his  disciple  ;  and  this  dis- 
ciple of  John  calls  the  first  day  of  the  week  the 
Lord's  day.  It  follows  therefore  that  John  must 
have  intended  the  first  day  of  the  week  by  the 
term  Lord's  day,  but  did  not  define  his  meaning 
because  it  v/as  familiarly  known  by  that  name  in 
his  time.  Thus  by  history  we  prove  the  first  day 
of  the  week  to  be  the  Lord's  day  of  Eev.  1:10; 
and  then  by  Kev.  1 :  10,  we  prove  the  first  day  of 
the  week  to  be  the  sacred  day  of  this  dispensation; 
for  the  spirit  of  inspiration  by  which  John  wrote 
would  not  have  called  the  first  day  by  this  name 
if  it  were  only  a  human  institution,  and  if  the 
seventh  day  was  still  by  divine  appointment 
the  Lord's  holy  day. 

This  is  a  concise  statement  of  the  strongest  ar- 
gument for  first-day  sacredness  which  can  be 
drawn  from  ecclesiastical  history.  It  is  the  argu- 
ment by  which  first-day  writers  prove  Sunday  to 
be  the  day  called  by  John  the  Lord's  day.  This 
argument  rests  upon  the  statement  that  Lord's 
da}^  as  a  name  for  Sunday  can  be  traced  back  to 
the  disciples  of  John,  and  that  it  is  the  name  by 
which  that  day  was  familiarly  knovrn  in  John's 
time. 

But  this  entire  statement  is  false.  The  truth 
is,  no  writer  of  the  first  century,  and  no  one  of 
the  second,  prior  to  A.  D.  194,  who  is  known  to 
speak  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  ever  calls  it 
the  Lord's  day  !  Yet  the  first  day  is  seven  times 
mentioned  by  the  sacred  writers  before  John's 
vision  upon  Patmos  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  is 


208  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

twice  mentioned  by  John  in  his  gospel  which  lie 
wrote  after  his  return  from  that  island,  and  is 
mentioned  some  sixteen  times  by  ecclesiastical 
writers  of  the  second  century  prior  to  A.  D.  194, 
and  never  in  a  single  instance  is  it  called  the 
Lord's  day  I  We  give  all  the  instances  of  its 
mention  in  the  Bible.  Moses,  in  the  beginning, 
by  divine  inspiration,  gave  to  the  day  its  name, 
and  though  the  resun^ection  of  Christ  is  said  to 
have  made  it  the  Lord's  day,  yet  every  sacred 
writer  w^ho  mentions  the  day  after  that  event 
still  adheres  to  the  plain  name  of  first  day  of  the 
week.  Here  are  all  the  instances  in  which  the 
inspired  writers  mention  the  day : — 

Moses,  B.  c.  1490.  '-'The  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  first  day."     Gen.  1:5. 

Matthew,  A.  D.  41.  "  In  the  end  of  the  Sab- 
bath, as  it  began  to  dawn  toward  the  first  day  of 
the  week."     Matt.  28  : 1. 

Paul,  A.  D.  57.  "  Upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week."     1  Cor.  16  :  2. 

Luke,  A.  D.  60.  "  Now  upon  the  first  day  of 
the  week."     Luke  24  : 1. 

Luke,  A.  D.  63.  "And  upon  the  first  day  of 
the  week."     Acts  20  : 7. 

Mark,  A,  D.  {)4.  "And  very  early  in  tlie  moin- 
ino',  the  first  day  of  the  week."  Mark  16:2. 
"  Now  when  Jesus  was  risen  early  the  first  day 
of  the  week."     Verse  9. 

After  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  before 
John's  vision,  A.  D.  96,  the  da}^  is  six  thnes  men- 
tioned by  inspired  men,  and  every  time  as  plain 
first  day  of  the  w^eek.  It  certainly  was  not  fa- 
miliarly known  as  Lord's  day  before  the  time  of 
John's  vision.  To  speak  the  exact  truth,  it  was 
not  called  by  that  name  at  all,  nor  by  any  othei 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  209 

name  equivalent  to  that,  nor  is  there  any  record 
of  its  being  set  apart  by  divine  authority  as  such. 

But  in  the  year  96,  John  says,  "  I  was  in  the 
Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  Eev.  1 :  10.  Now  it 
is  evident  that  this  must  be  a  day  which  the 
Lord  had  set  apart  for  himself,  and  which  he 
claimed  as  his.  This  was  ail  true  in  the  case 
of  the  seventh  day,  but  was  not  in  any  respect 
true  in  that  of  the  first  day.  He  could  not  there- 
fore call  the  first  day  by  this  name,  for  it  was  not 
such.  But  if  the  Spirit  of  God  designed  at  this 
point  to  create  a  new  institution  and  to  call  a 
certain  day  the  Lord's  day  which  before  had 
never  been  claimed  by  him  as  such,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  he  should  specify  that  new  day.  He 
did  not  define  the  term,  which  proves  that  he 
was  not  giving  a  sacred  name  to  some  new  in- 
stitution, but  was  speaking  of  a  well-known,  di- 
vinely appointed  day.  But  after  John's  return 
from  Patmos,  he  wrote  his  gospel,^  and  in  that 
gospel  he  twice  had  occasion  to  mention  the  first 
day  of  the  Aveek.  Let  us  see  whether  he  adheres 
to  the  manner  of  the  other  sacred  writers,  or 
whether,  when  we  know  he  means  the  first  day, 
he  gives  to  it  a  sacred  name. 

John,  A.  D.  97.  "  The  first  day  of  the  week 
Cometh  Mary  Magdalene  early."  John  20 : 1. 
"  Then  the  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first 
day  of  the  v/eek."     Verse  19. 

These  texts  complete  the  Bible  record  of  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  They  furnish  conclusive 
evidence  that  John  did  not  receive  new  lisrht  in 
vision  at  Patmos,  bidding  him  call  the  first  day  of 
the  week  the  Lord's  day,  and  when  taken  with 

^  See  the  testimony  on  page  189  of  this  work. 


210  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

all  the  instances  preceding,  they  constitute  a 
complete  demons  traction  that  the  iirst  day  was 
not  familiarly  known  as  the  Lord's  day  in  John's 
time,  nor  indeed  known  at  all  by  that  name  then. 
Let  us  now  see  whether  Lord's  day  as  a  title  for 
the  first  day  can  be  traced  back  to  John  by 
means  of  the  writings  of  the  fathers. 

The  following  is  a  concise  statement  of  the 
testimony  by  which  the  fathers  are  made  to 
prove  that  John  used  the  term  Lord's  day  as  a 
name  for  the  first  day  of  the  week.  A  chain  of 
seven  successive  witnesses,  commencing  with  one 
who  was  the  disciple  of  John,  and  extending  for- 
ward through  several  generations,  is  made  to  con- 
nect and  identify  the  Lord's  day  of  John  with  the 
Sunday- Lord's  day  of  a  later  age.  Thus,  Ignatius, 
the  disciple  of  John,  is  made  to  speak  familiarly  of 
the  first  day  as  the  Lord's  day.  This  is  directly  con- 
necting the  fathers  and  the  apostles.  Then  the 
epistle  of  Pliny,  A.  D.  104,  in  connection  with  the 
Acts  of  the  Martyrs,  is  adduced  to  prove  that  the 
martyrs  in  his  time  and  forward  were  tested  as 
to  their  observance  of  Sunday,  the  question  be- 
ing, "  Have  you  kept  the  Lord's  day  ?"  Next,  Jus- 
tin Martyr,  A.  D.  lio,  is  made  to  speak  of  Sunday 
as  the  Lord's  day.  After  this,  Theophilus  of  An- 
tioch,  A.  D.  168,  is  brought  forward  to  bear  a  pow- 
erful testimony  to  the  Sunday-Lord's  day.  Then 
Dionysius  of  Corinth,  A.  D.  170,  is  made  to  speak 
to  the  same  effect.  Next  Melito  of  Sardis,  A.  d. 
177,  is  produced  to  confirm  what  the  others  have 
said.  And  finally,  Irenasus,  A.  D.  178,  who  had 
been  the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  v/ho  had  been  the 
disciple  of  John  the  apostle,  is  brought  forward 
to  bear  a  decisive  testimony  in  behalf  of  Sunday 
as  the  Lord's  day  and  the  Christian  Sabbath. 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  211 

These  are  the  first  seven  witnesses  who  are 
cited  to  prove  Sunday  the  Lord's  day.  They 
brino-  us  nearly  to  the  close  of  the  second  centu- 
ry. They  constitute  the  chain  of  testimony  by 
which  the  Lord's  day  of  the  apostle  John  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Sunday-Lord's  day  of  later  times. 
First-day  writers  present  these  witnesses  as  prov- 
ing positively  that  Sunday  is  the  Lord's  day  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  the  Christian  church  accepts 
this  testimony  in  the  absence  of  that  of  the  in- 
spired writers.  But  the  folly  of  the  people,  and 
the  wickedness  of  those  who  lead  them,  may  be 
set  forth  in  one  sentence  : — 

The  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  and  seventh,  of 
these  testimonies  are  inexcusable  frauds,  while 
the  fifth  and  sixth  have  no  decisive  bearing  upon 
the  case. 

1.  Ignatius,  the  first  of  these  witnesses,  it  is 
said,  must  have  known  Sunday  to  be  the  Lord's 
day,  for  he  calls  it  such,  and  he  had  conversed 
with  the  apostle  John.  But  in  the  entire  writ- 
ings of  this  father  the  term  Lord's  day  does  not 
once  occur,  nor  is  there  in  them  all  a  single  men- 
tion of  the  first  da>y  of  the  week !  The  reader 
will  find  a  critical  examination  of  the  epistles  of 
Ignatius  in  chapter  fourteen  of  this  history. 

2.  It  is  a  pure  fabrication  that  the  martyrs  in 
Pliny's  time,  about  A.  D.  104,  and  thence  on- 
ward, were  tested  by  the  question  whether  they 
had  kept  the  Sunday-Lord's  day.  No  question 
at  all  resembling  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  words 
of  the  martyrs  till  we  come  to  the  fourth  centu- 
ry, and  then  the  reference  is  not  at  all  to  the  first 
ciay  of  the  week.  This  is  fully  shown  in  chapter 
fifteen. 

3.  The  Bible  Dictionary  of  the  American  Tract 


212  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Society,  page  379,  brings  forward  the  third  of 
these  Sunday- Lord's  day  witnesses  in  the  person 
of  Justin  Martyr,  A.  D.  140.  It  makes  him  call 
Sunday  tlie  Lord's  day  by  quoting  him  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  Justin  Martyr  observes  that  'on  the  Lord's  day  all 
Christian,s  in  the  city  or  country  meet  together,  because 
that  is  the  day  of  our  Lord's  resurrection.'  " 

But  Justin  never  gave  to  Sunday  the  title  of 
Lord's  day,  nor  indeed  any  other  sacred  title. 
Here  are  his  words  correctly  quoted : — 

''And  on  the  day  called  Sunday,  all  who  live  in  cities 
or  in  the  country  gather  together  to  one  place,  and  the 
memoirs  of  the  apostles,  or  the  writings  of  the  prophets, 
are  read,  as  long  as  time  permits,"  etc.  ^ 

Justin  speaks  of  the  day  called  Sunday.  But 
that  he  may  be  made  to  help  establish  its  title 
to  the  name  of  Lord's  day,  his  words  are  deliber- 
ately changed.  Thus  the  third  witness  to  Sun- 
day as  the  Lord's  day,  like  the  first  and  the  sec- 
ond, is  made  such  by  fraud.  But  the  fourth  fraud 
is  even  worse  than  the  three  which  precede. 

4.  The  fourth  testimony  to  the  Sunday-Lord's 
day  is  furnished  in  Dr.  Justin  Edwards'  Sabbath 
Manual,  p.  114: — 

"Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  about  a.  d.  1G2,  says: 
'  Both  custom  and  reason  challenge  from  us  that  we  should 
honor  tlie  LortVs  day,  seeing  on  that  day  it  was  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  completed  his  resurrection  from  the  dead.'  " 

Dr.  Edwards  does  not  pretend  to  give  the  place 
in  Theophilus  vv^here  these  words  are  to  be  found. 
Having  carefully  and  minutely  examined  every 
paragraph  of  the  writings  of  Theophilus  several 
times  over,  I  state  emphatically  that  nothing  of 

1  Justin  Martyr's  First  Apology,  chap.  Ixvii. 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  213 

the  kind  is  to  be  found  in  that  writer.  He  never 
uses  the  term  Lord's  day,  and  he  does  not  even 
speak  of  the  first  day  of  the  week.  These  v/ords 
which  are  so  well  adapted  to  create  the  impres- 
sion that  the  Sunday-Lord's  day  is  of  apostolic 
institution,  are  put  into  his  mouth  by  the  false- 
hood of  some  one. 

Here  are  four  frauds,  constituting  the  first  four 
instances  of  the  alleged  use  of  Lord's  day  as  a 
name  for  Sunday.  Yet  it  ia  by  means  of  these 
veiy  frauds  that  the  Sunday-Lord's  day  of  later 
ages  is  identified  with  the  Lord's  day  of  the  Bi- 
ble. Somebody  invented  these  frauds.  The  use 
to  which  they  are  put  plainly  indicates  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  framed.  The  title  of 
Lord's  day  must  be  proved  to  pertain  to  Sunday 
by  apostolic  authority.  For  this  purpose  these 
frauds  were  a  necessity.  The  case  of  the  Sunday- 
Lord's  day  may  be  fitly  illustrated  by  that  of  the 
long  line  of  popes.  Their  apostolic  authority  as 
head  of  the  Catholic  church  depends  on  their  being 
able  to  identify  the  apostle  Peter  as  the  first  of 
their  line,  and  to  prove  that  his  authority  was 
transmitted  to  them.  There  is  no  difiiculty  in 
tracing  back  their  line  to  the  early  ages,  though 
the  earliest  Roman  bishops  were  modest,  unas- 
suming men,  wholly  unlike  the  popes  of  after 
times.  But  when  they  come  to  make  Peter  the 
head  of  their  line,  and  to  identify  his  authority 
and  theirs,  they  can  do  it  only  by  fraudulent  tes- 
timonials. And  such  is  the  case  with  first-day 
observance.  It  may  be  traced  back  as  a  festival 
to  the  time  of  Justin  Mart}^',  A.  D.  140,  but  the 
day  had  then  no  sacred  na,me,  and  at  that  time 
claimed  no  apostolic  authoritj^  But  these  must 
be  secured  at  anv  cost,  and  so  its  title  of  Lord's 


214  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

day  is  by  a  series  of  fraudulent  testimonials 
traced  to  the  apostle  John,  as  in  like  manner  the 
authority  of  the  popes  is  traced  to  the  apostle 
Peter. 

5.  The  fifth  witness  of  this  series  is  Dionysius 
of  Corinth,  A.  D.  170.  Unlike  the  four  which 
have  been  already  examined,  Dionysius  actually 
uses  the  term  Lord's  day,  though  he  saj^s  nothing 
identifying  it  with  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
His  words  are  these : — 

"  To-day  "vve  have  passed  the  Lord's  holy  day,  in  which  we 
have  read  your  epistle ;  in  reading  which  we  shall  always 
have  our  minds  stored  with  admonition,  as  we  shall,  also, 
from  that  written  to  us  before  by  Clement."^ 

The  epistle  of  Dionysius  to  Soter,  bishop  of 
Rome,  from  which  this  sentence  is  taken,  has  per- 
ished. Eusebius,  who  wrote  in  the  fourth  cent- 
ury, has  preserved  to  us  this  sentence,  but  we 
have  no  knowledge  of  its  connection.  First-day 
writers  quote  Dionysius  as  the  fifth  of  their  wit- 
nesses that  Sunday  is  the  Lord's  day.  They  say 
that  Sunday  was  so  familiarly  known  as  Lord's 
day  in  the  time  of  Dionysius,  that  he  calls  it  by 
that  name  without  even  stopping  to  tell  what 
day  he  meant. 

But  it  is  not  honest  to  present  Dionysius  as  a 
witness  to  the  Sunday-Lord's  day,  for  he  makes 
no  application  of  the  term.  But  it  is  said  he 
certainly  meant  Sunday  because  that  was  the 
familiar  name  of  the  day  in  his  time,  even  as  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  did  not  define  the 
term.  And  how  is  it  known  that  Lord's  day  was 
the  familiar  name  of  Sunday  in  the  time  of  Di- 
onysius ?     The  four  witnesses  already  examined 

J  Eusebius's  Eccl.  Hist.,  book  ir.  chap,  xxiii. 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  215 

furnish  all  the  evidence  in  proof  of  this,  for  there 
is  no  writer  this  side  of  Dionysius  who  calls  Sun- 
day the  Lord's  day  until  almost  the  entire  period 
of  a  generation  has  elapaed.  So  Dionysius  con- 
stitutes the  fifth  witness  of  the  series  by  virtue 
of  the  fact  that  the  first  four  witnesses  prove  that 
in  his  time,  Lord's  day  w^as  the  common  name 
for  first  day  of  the  week.  But  the  first  four  tes- 
tify to  nothing  of  the  kind  until  the  words  are  by 
fraud  put  into  their  mouths  !  Dionysius  is  a  wit- 
ness for  the  Sunday-Lord's  da}^  because  that  four 
fraudulent  testimonials  from  the  generations  pre- 
ceding him  fix  this  as  the  meaning  of  his  words ! 
And  the  name  Lord's  day  must  have  been  a  very 
common  one  for  first  day  of  the  week  because 
Dionysius  does  not  define  the  term !  And  yet 
those  who  say  this  know  that  this  one  sentence 
of  his  e23istle  remains,  while  the  connection,  which 
doubtless  fixed  his  meaning,  has  perished. 

But  Dionysius  does  not  merely  use  the  term 
Lord's  day.  He  uses  a  stronger  term  than  this 
— "  the  Lord's  holy  day."  Even  for  a  long  period 
after  Dionysius,  no  writer  gives  to  Sunday  so 
sacred  a  title  as  "  the  Lord's  holy  day."  Yet  this 
is  the  very  title  given  to  the  Sabbath  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  it  is  a  well -ascertained  fact  that 
at  this  very  time  it  was  extensively  observed, 
especially  in  Greece,  the  country  of  Dionysius, 
and  that,  too,  as  an  act  of  obedience  to  the  fourth 
commandment.  ^ 

6.  The  sixth  witness  in  this  remai-kable  series 
is  Melito  of  Sardis,  A.  D.  177.  The  first  four,  who 
never  use  the  term  Lord's  day,  are  by  direct 
fraud  made  to  call  Sunday  by  that  name ;  the 

1  See  chap,  xviii.  of  this  History. 


216  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

fifth,  who  speaks  of  the  Lord's  holy  day,  is  claimed 
on  the  strength  of  these  frauds  to  have  meant  by 
it  Sunday ;  while  the  sixth  is  not  certainly  proved 
to  have  spoken  of  any  day !  Melito  wrote  sev- 
eral books  now  lost,  the  titles  of  which  have  been 
preserved  to  us  by  Eusebius.^  One  of  these,'  as 
given  in  the  English  version  of  Eusebius,  is  "  On 
the  Lord's  Day."  Of  course,  first-day  writers 
claim  that  this  was  a  treatise  concerning  Sunday, 
though  down  to  this  point  no  writer  calls  Sunday 
by  this  name.  But  it  is  an  im.portant  fact  that 
the  word  day  formed  no  part  of  the  title  of 
Melito's  book.  It  was  a  discourse  on  something  per- 
taining to  the  Lord 6  iregt  TTJg  KvgiaKr/g  loyog but  the 

essential  word  v/iie()ac,  day,  is  wanting.  It  may  have 
been  a  treatise  on  the  life  of  Christ,  for  lornatius 
thus  uses  these  words  in  connection :  KVQianyv  ^ui/v, 
Lord's  life.  Like  the  sentence  from  Dionysius,  it 
would  not  even  seem  to  help  the  claim  of  Sunday 
to  the  title  of  Lord's  day  were  it  not  for  the  series 
of  frauds  in  which  it  stands. 

7.  The  seventh  witness  summoned  to  prove 
that  Lord's  day  was  the  apostolic  title  of  Sunda}^, 
is  Irenreus.  Dr.  Justin  Edwards  professes  to 
quote  him  as  follows  : —  ^ 

''Hence  Irenreus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  a  disciple  of  Poly- 
carp,  who  had  been  the  companion  of  the  ax)ostles,  a.  d. 
167  [it  should  be  a.  d.  178],  says  that  the  Lord's  day 
was  the  Christian  Sabbath.  His  words  are,  'On  the 
Lord's  day  every  one  of  us  Christians  keeps  the  Sabbath, 
meditating  on  the  law,  and  rejoicing  in  the  works  of 
God.'" 

This  witness  is  brought  forward  in  a  manner  to 
give  the  utmost  weight  and  authority  to  his  words. 

'  See  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  book  iv.  chap.  xxvi. 
3 Sabbat li  Manual,  p.  Ilk 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  217 

He  was  the  disciple  of  that  eminent  Christian  mar- 
tyr, Polycarp,  and  Polycarp  was  the  companion 
of  the  apostles.  What  Irenjeus  says  is  therefore 
in  the  estimation  of  many  as  worthy  of  our  con- 
fidence as  though  we  could  read  it  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  apostles.  Does  not  Irengeus  call  Sun- 
day the  Christian  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day  ? 
Did  he  not  learn  these  things  from  Polycarp? 
And  did  not  Polycarp  get  them  from  the  fountain 
head  ?  What  need  have  we  of  further  witness 
that  Lord's  day  is  the  apostolic  name  for  Sun- 
clay  ?  What  if  the  six  earlier  witnesses  have 
failed  us  ?  Here  is  one  that  says  all  that  can  be 
asked,  and  he  had  his  doctrine  from  a  man  who 
had  his  from  the  apostles  ! 

Why  then  does  not  this  establish  the  authority 
of  Sunday  as  the  Lord's  day  ?  The  first  reason 
is  that  neither  Irenjieus  nor  any  other  man  can 
add  to  or  change  one  precept  of  the  word  of  God, 
on  any  pretense  whatever.  We  are  never  author- 
ized to  depart  from  the  words  of  the  inspired 
writers  on  the  testimony  of  men  who  conversed 
with  the  apostles,  or  rather  who  conversed  with 
some  who  had  conversed  with  them.  But  the 
second  reason  is  that  every  word  of  this  pretended 
testimony  of  Irenseus  is  a  fraud !  Nor  is  there 
a  single  instance  in  which  the  term  Lord's  day 
is  to  be  found  in  any  of  his  works,  nor  in  any 
fragment  of  his  works  preserved  in  other  authors  !  ^ 
And  this  completes  the  seven  witnesses  by  whom 
the  Lord's  day  of  the  Catholic  church  is  traced 
back  to  and  identified  with  the  Lord's  day  of 
the  Bible  !     It  is  not  till  A,  D.  194,  sixteen  years 

1  See  chap.   xvi.  of  this  work;  and  also  Testimou}'  of  the  Fa- 
thers, pp.  4^52. 

Sabbath  History.  13 


218  HISTOrtY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

after  the  latest  of  these  witnesses,  that  we  meet 
the  first  instance  in  which  Sunday  is  called  the 
Lord's  day.  In  other  words,  Sunday  is  not  called 
the  Lord's  day  till  ninety-eiglit  years  after  John 
was  upon  Patrnos,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  years  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ ! 

But  is  not  thi^  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  rec- 
ords of  that  period  have  perished  ?  By  no 
means  ;  for  the  day  is  six  times  mentioned  by  the 
inspired  writers  between  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  A.  D.  31,  and  John's  vision  upon  Patmos, 
A.  D.  96  ;  namely,  by  Matthew,  A.  D.  41 ;  by  Paul, 
A.  D.  57 ;  by  Luke,  A.  d.  60,  and  A.  d.  63 ;  and  by 
Mark,  A.  D.  64  ;  and  always  as  first  day  of  the 
week.  John,  after  his  return  from  Patmos,  A.  D. 
97,  twice  mentions  the  day,  still  calling  it  first 
day  of  the  week. 

After  John's  time,  the  day  is  next  mentioned 
in  the  so-called  epistle  of  Barnabas,  v/ritten  prob- 
ably as  early  as  A.  D.  140,  and  is  there  called 
"  the  eighth  day."  Next  it  is  mentioned  by  Jus- 
tin Martyr  in  his  Apology,  A.  D.  140,  once  as  "the 
day  on  which  we  all  hold  our  common  assembly  ;" 
once  as  "  the  first  day  on  which  God  .  .  .  made 
the  world;"  once  as  "the  same  day  [on  which 
Christ]  rose  from  the  dead;"  once  as  "the  day 
after  that  of  Saturn  ;"  and  three  times  as  "  Sun- 
day," or  "  the  day  of  the  sun."  Next  the  day  is 
mentioned  by  Justin  Martyr  in  his  Dialogue 
with  Trypho,  A.  D.  155,  in  wliich  he  twice  calls 
it  the  "eighth  day;"  once  "the  first  of  all  the 
days ;"  once  as  "  the  first "  "  of  all  the  days  of  the 
[weekly]  cycle ;"  and  twice  as  "  the  first  day  after 
the  Sabbath."  Next  it  is  once  mentioned  by 
Iren?eus,  A.  D.  178,  who  calls  it  simply  the  first 
day  of  the  week."     And  next  it  is   mentioned 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  APosroLic.  219 

once  by  Bardesanes,  wlio  calls  it  simply  '•'  the  first 
of  the  week."  The  variety  of  names  by  which 
the  day  is  mentioned  during  this  time  is  re- 
markable; but  it  is  never  called  Lord's  day, 
nor  ever  called  by  any  sacred  name. 

Though  Sunday  is  mentioned  in  so  many  dif- 
ferent ways  during  the  second  century,  it  is  not 
till  we  come  almost  to  the  close  of  that  century 
that  we  find  the  first  instance  in  which  it  is  called 
Lord's  day.  Clement,  of  Alexandria,  A.  D.  194, 
uses  this  title  with  reference  to  "the  eighth  day." 
If  he  speaks  of  a  natural  day,  he  no  doubt  means 
Sunday.  It  is  not  certain,  however,  that  he 
speaks  of  a  natural  day,  for  his  explanation  gives 
to  the  term  an  entirely  different  sense.  Here 
are  his  words  : — 

''  And  the  Lord's  day  Plato  prophetically  si)eaks  of  in 
the  tenth  book  of  the  Republic,  in  these  words  :  '  And 
vfhen  seven  days  have  passed  to  each  of  them  in  the 
meadow,  on  the  eighth  they  are  to  set  out  and  arrive 
in  four  days.'  By  the  meadow  is  to  be  understood  the 
fixed  sphere,  as  being  a  mild  and  genial  spot,  and  the 
locality  of  the  pious  ;  and  by  the  seven  days,  each  motion 
of  the  seven  planets,  and  the  whole  practical  art  which 
speeds  to  the  end  of  rest.  But  after  the  wandering  orbs, 
the  journey  leads  to  Heaven,  that  is,  to  the  eighth  motion 
and  day.  And  he  says  that  souls  are  gone  on  the  fourth 
day,  pointing  out  the  passage  through  the  four  elements. 
But  the  seventh  day  is  recognized  as  sacred,  not  by  the 
Hebrews  only,  but  also  by  the  Greeks  ;  according  to  which 
the  whole  world  of  all  animals  and  yjlanta  revolve.  "^ 

Clement  was  originally  a  heathen  philosopher, 
and  these  strange  mysticisms  which  he  here  puts 
forth  upon  the  words  of  Plato  are  only  modifica- 
tions of  his  former  heathen  notions.  Though 
Clement  says  that  Plato  speaks    of  the   Lord's 

I  The  Miscellanies  of  Clement,  book  v.  chap.  xiv. 


220  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH, 

day,  it  is  certain  that  he  does  not  understand 
him  to  speak  of  literal  days  nor  of  a  literal 
meadow.  On  the  contrary,  he  interprets  the 
meadow  to  represent  "  the  hxed  sphere,  as  being 
a  mild  and  genial  spot,  and  the  locality  of  the 
pious;"  which  must  refer  to  their  future  inherit- 
ance. The  seven  days  are  not  so  many  literal 
days,  but  they  represent  ''each  motion  of  the 
seven  planets,  and  the  whole  practical  art  which 
speeds  to  the  end  of  rest."  This  seems  to  rep- 
resent the  present  period  of  labor  which  is  to 
end  in  the  rest  of  the  saints.  For  he  adds  :  "But 
after  the  wandering  orbs  [represented  by  Plato's 
seven  days]  the  journey  leads  to  Heaven,  that  is, 
to  the  eighth  motion  and  day!'  The  seven  days, 
therefore,  do  here  represent  the  period  of  the 
Christian's  i)ilgrimage,  and  the  eighth  day  of 
which  Clement  here  speaks  is  not  Sunday,  but 
Heaven  itself!  Here  is  the  first  instance  of 
Lord's  day  as  a  name  for  the  eighth  day,  but  this 
eighth  day  is  a  mystical  one,  and  means  Heaven  ! 
But  Clement  uses  the  term  Lord's  day  once 
more,  and  this  time  clearly,  as  representing,  not  a 
literal  day,  but  the  whole  period  of  our  regener- 
ate life.  For  he  speaks  of  it  in  treating  of  fast- 
inor  and  he  sets  forth  fasting  as  consisting  in  ab- 
stinence  from  sinful  pleasures,  not  only  in  deeds, 
to  use  his  distinction,  as  forbidden  by  the  law,  but 
in  thoughts,  as  forbidden  by  the  gospel.  Such 
fasting  pertains  to  the  entire  life  of  the  Christian. 
And  thus  Clement  sets  forth  what  is  involved  in 
observing  this  duty  in  the  gospel  sense : — 

"He,  in  fulfillment  of  the  precept,  according  to  the 
gospel,  keeps  the  Lord's  day,  when  he  abandons  an  evil 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  221 

disposition,  and  assumes  that  of  the  Gnostic,  glorifying 
the  Lord's  resurrection  in  himself."^ 

From  this  statement  we  learn,  not  merely  his 
idea  of  fasting,  but  also  that  of  celebrating  the 
Lord's  day,  and  glorifying  the  resurrection  of 
Christ.  This,  according  to  Clement,  does  not 
consist  in  paying  special  honors  to  Sunday,  but 
in  abandoning  an  evil  disposition,  and  in  assum- 
ing that  of  the  Gnostic,  a  Christian  sect  to  which 
he  belonged.  Now  it  is  plain  that  this  kind  of 
Lord's-day  observance  pertains  to  no  one  day  of 
the  week,  but  embraces  the  entire  life  of  the 
Christian.  Clement's  Lord's  day  was  not  a  lit- 
eral, but  a  mystical,  day,  embracing,  according  to 
this,  his  second  use  of  the  term,  the  entire  regen- 
erate life  of  the  Christian  ;  and  according  to  his 
first  use  of  the  term,  embracing  also  the  future 
life  in  Heaven.  And  this  view  is  confirmed  by 
Clement's  statement  of  the  contrast  between  the 
Gnostic  sect  to  which  he  belonged  and  other 
Christians.  He  says  of  their  worship  that  it  was 
"  NOT  ON  SPECIAL  DAYS,  as  some  others,  but  doing 
this  continually  in  our  whole  life."  And  he 
speaks  further  of  the  worship  of  the  Gnostic  that 
it  was  "  710^  in  a  specified  place,  or  selected  tem- 
ple, or  at  certain  festivals,  and  on  appointed  days, 
but  during  his  whole  life."^ 

It  is  certainly  a  very  remarkable  fact  that  the 
first  writer  who  speaks  of  the  Lord's  day  as  the 
eighth  day  uses  the  term,  not  with  reference  to  a 
literal,  but  a  mystical,  day.  It  is  not  Sunday, 
but  the  Christian's  life,  or  Heaven  itself !     This 


1  The  Miscellanies  of  Clement,  book  vii.  chap,  xii.;  Testimony  of 
the  Fathers,  p.  61. 

2  The    Miscellanies,  book  vii.   chap,   vii.;    Testimony   of   the 
Fathers,  p.  62. 


222  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

doctrine  of  a  perpetual  Lord's  da}?-,  wo  shall  find 
alluded  to  in  Tertullian,  and  expressly  stated  in 
Origen,  who  are  the  next  two  writers  that  use 
the  term  Lord's  da.y.  But  Clement's  mystical  or 
perpetual  Lord's  day  shows  that  he  had  no  idea 
that  John,  by  Lord's  day,  meant  Sunday  ;  for  in 
that  case,  he  must  have  recognized  that  as  the 
true  Lord's  day,  and  the  Gnostics'  special  day  of 
worship. 

Tertullian,  A.  D.  200,  is  the  next  writer  who 
uses  the  term  Lord's  day.  He  defines  his  mean- 
ing, and  fixes  the  name  upon  the  day  of  Christ's 
resurrection.  Kitto^  says  this  is  "  the  earliest  au- 
thentic instance  "  in  which  the  name  is  thus  ap- 
plied, and  we  have  proved  this  true  by  actual 
examination  of  every  writer,  unless  the  reader 
can  discover  some  reference  to  Sunday  in  Clem- 
ent's mystical  eighth  day.  Tertullia,n's  words  are 
these : — 

' '  We,  however  ( j  ust  as  we  have  received),  only  on  the 
Lord's  day  of  the  resurrection  [solo  die  dominico  resurrex- 
ionis]  ought  to  guard,  not  only  against  kneeling,  but  ev- 
ery i)osture  a,nd  office  of  solicitude ;  deferring  even  our 
business,  lest  we  give  any  place  to  the  devil.  Similarly, 
too,  in  the  period  of  Pentecost  ;  which  period  we  distin- 
guish by  the  same  solemnity  of  exultation."" 

Twice  more  does  Tertullian  use  the  term  Lord's 
day,  and  once  more  does  he  define  it,  this  time 
calhng  it  the  "eighth  day."  And  in  each  of 
these  two  cases  does  he  place  the  day  which  he 
calls  Lord's  day  in  the  same  rank  with  the  Cath- 
olic festival  of  Pentecost,  even  as  he  does  in  the 
instance  already  quoted.     As  the  second  instance 

1  Kitto's  Cyclopedia  of  Biblical  Literature,  original  edition,  ar- 
ticle Lord's  hay. 

2  Tertullian  oii  Pravcr,  chap,  xxiii.  ;  Teatimonv  of  the  Fathers, 
p.  G7. 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  223 

of  Tertullian  s  use  of  Lord's  day,  we  quote  a  por- 
tion of  the  rebuke  which  he  addressed  to  his 
brethren  for  mingling  with  the  heathen  in  their 
festivals.     He  says  : — 

"  Oh.1  better  fidelity  of  the  nations  to  their  own  sects, 
which  claims  no  solemnity  of  the  Christians  for  itself  ! 
Not  the  Lord's  day,  not  Pentecost,  even  if  they  had  hiGicn 
them,  would  they  have  shared  with  ns  ;  for  they  vfould 
fear  lest  they  should  seem  to  be  Christians.  We  are  not 
apprehensive  lest  we  seem  to  be  heathens!  If  any  indul- 
gence is  to  be  granted  to  the  flesh,  you  have  it.  I  will 
not  say  your  own  days,  but  more  too  ;  for  to  the  heathens 
each  festive  day  occurs  but  once  annually  ;  you  have  a 
festive  day  every  eighth  day."^ 

The  festival  which  Tertullian  here  represents 
as  coming  every  eighth  day  was  no  doubt  the 
one  which  he  has  just  called  the  Lord's  day. 
Though  he  elsewhere  ^  speaks  of  the  Sunday  fes- 
tival as  observed  at  least  by  some  portion  of  the 
heathen,  he  here  speaks  of  the  Lord's  day  as  un- 
known to  those  heathen  of  whom  he  now  writes. 
This  strongly  indicates  that  the  Sunday  festival 
had  but  recently  begun  to  be  called  by  the  name 
of  Lord's  day.  But  he  once  more  speaks  of  the 
Lord's  day : — 

"As  often  as  the  anniversary  comes  round,  we  make 
offerings  for  the  dead  as  birth-day  honors.  We  count 
fasting  or  kneeling  in  worship)  on  the  Lord's  day  to  be 
unlawful.  We  rejoice  in  the  same  privilege  also  from 
Easter  to  Whitsunday  [the  Pentecost].  We  feel  pained 
should  any  wine  or  bread,  even  though  our  own,  be  cast 
upon  the  ground.  At  every  forward  step  and  movement, 
at  every  going  in  and  out,  when  vv^e  put  on  our  clothes 
and  shoes,  when  we  bathe,  when  we  sit  at  table,  when  we 
light  the  lamps,  on  couch,  on   scat,  in  ail  the  ordinary 

'  On  Ifiolatry,  chap.  xiv. ;  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  p.  CG. 
-Ad  NatioiKS,  book  1.  chap.  xiii. ;  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  p. 

70. 


224  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABBATH. 

actions  of  daily  life,  we  trace  upon  the  fofeliead  the  sign 
[of  the  cross]. 

^'If,  for  these  and  other  such  rules,  you  insist  upon 
having  positive  Scripture  injunction,  you  will  find  none. 
Tradition  will  be  held  forth  to  you  as  the  originator  of 
them,  custom  as  their  strengthener,  and  faith  as  their 
observer.  That  reason  will  support  tradition,  and  cus- 
tom, and  faith,  you  will  either  yourself  perceive,  or  learn 
from  some  one  who  has."^ 

This  completes  the  instances  in  which  Tertul- 
lian  uses  the  term  Lord's  day,  except  a  mere  al- 
lusion to  it  in  his  discourse  on  Fasting.  It  is 
very  remarkable  that  in  each  of  the  three  cases, 
he  puts  it  on  a  level  with  the  festival  of  Whit- 
sunday, or  Pentecost.  He  also  associates  it  di- 
rectly with  "offerings  for  the  dead"  and  with 
the  use  of  "  the  sign  of  the  cross."  When  asked 
for  authority  from  the  Bible  for  these  things,  he 
does  not  answer,  "  We  have  the  authority  of  John 
for  the  Lord's  day,  though  we  have  nothing  but 
tradition  for  the  sign  of  the  cross  and  offerings 
for  the  dead."  On  the  contrary,  he  said  there 
was  no  Scripture  injunction  for  any  of  them.  If 
it  be  asked,  How  could  the  title  of  Lord's  day  be 
given  to  Sunday  except  by  tradition  derived 
from  the  apostles  ?  the  answer  will  be  properly 
returned,  What  was  the  oris^in  of  offerinors  for  the 
dead  ?  And  how  did  the  sign  of  the  cross  come 
into  use  among  Christians  ?  The  title  of  Lord's 
day  as  a  name  for  Sunday  is  no  nearer  apostolic 
than  is  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  offerings  for  the 
dead ;  for  it  can  be  traced  no  nearer  to  apostolic 
times  than  can  these  most  palpable  errors  of  the 
great  apostasy. 

Clement  taught  a  perpetual  Lord's  day;   Ter- 

1  De  Corona,  sects.  3  and  4 :  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  pp. 
C8,  C!». 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.         225 

tuUian  held  a  similar  view,  asserting  that  Chris- 
tians should  celebrate  a  perpetual  Sabbath,  not 
by  abstinence  from  labor,  but  from  sin.^  Tertul- 
lian's  method  of  Sunday  observance  will  be  no- 
ticed hereafter. 

Origen,  A.  D.  231,  is  the  third  of  the  ancient 
writers  who  call  "  the  eighth  day  "  the  Lord's  day. 
He  was  the  disciple  of  Clement,  the  first  writer 
who  makes  this  application.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  he  should  teach  Clement's  doctrine 
of  a  perpetual  Lord's  day,  nor  that  he  should 
state  it  even  more  distinctly  than  did  Clement 
himself  Origen,  having  represented  Paul  as 
teaching  that  all  days  are  alike,  continues 
thus : — 

"If  it  be  objected  to  us  on  this  subject  that  we  our- 
selves are  accustomed  to  observe  certain  days,  as  for  ex- 
ample the  Lord's  day,  the  Preparation,  the  Passover,  or 
Pentecost,  I  have  to  answer,  that  to  the  perfect  Christian, 
who  is  ever  in  his  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  serving 
his  natural  Lord,  God  the  Word,  all  his  days  are  the 
Lord's,  and  he  is  always  keeping  the  Lord's  day."' 

This  was  written  some  forty  years  after  Clem- 
ent had  propounded  his  doctrine  of  the  Lord's 
day.  The  imperfect  Christian  might  honor  a 
Lord's  day  which  stood  in  the  same  rank  with 
the  Preparation,  the  Passover,  and  the  Pentecost. 
But  the  perfect  Christian  observed  the  true  Lord's 
day,  which  embraced  all  the  days  of  his  regener- 
ate life.  Origen  uses  the  term  Lord's  day  for 
two  different  days.  1.  For  a  natural  day,  which 
in  his  judgment  stood  in  the  same  rank  with  the 


1  An  Answer  to  the  Jews,  chap.  iv.  ;   Testimony  of  the  Fathers, 
p.  73. 

2  Against  Celsus,  book  8.  chap.  xxii. ;   Testimony  of  the  Fa- 
thers, p.  87. 


226  IIISTOFtY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Preparation  day,  the  Passover,  and  the  Pentecost. 
2.  For  a  mystical  day,  as  did  Clement,  which  is 
the  entire  period  of  the  Christian's  life.  The 
mystical  day,  in  his  estimation,  was  the  true 
Lord's  day.  It  therefore  follows  that  he  did  not 
believe  Sunday  to  be  the  Lord's  day  by  apostolic 
appointment.  But,  after  Origen's  time,  Lord's 
day  becomes  a  common  name  for  the  so-called 
eighth  day.  Yet  these  three  men,  Clement,  Ter- 
tuUian,  and  Origen,  who  first  make  this  applica- 
tion, not  only  do  not  claim  that  this  name  was 
given  to  the  day  by  the  apostles,  but  do  plainly 
indicate  that  they  had  no  such  idea.  Offerings 
for  the  dead  and  the  use  of  the  sign  of  the  cross 
are  found  as  near  to  apostolic  times  as  is  the  use 
of  Lord's  day  as  a  name  for  Sunday.  The  three 
have  a  common  origin,  as  shown  by  Tertullian's 
own  words.  Origen's  views  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
of  the  Sunday  festival,  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 

Such  is  the  case  with  the  claim  of  Sunday  to 
the  title  of  Lord's  day.  The  first  instance  of  its 
use,  if  Clement  be  supposed  to  refer  to  Sunday, 
is  not  till  almost  one  century  after  John  was  in 
vision  upon  Patmos.  Those  who  first  call  it  by 
that  name  had  no  idea  that  it  was  such  by  di- 
vine or  apostolic  appointment,  as  they  plainly 
show.  In  marked  contrast  with  this  is  the 
Catholic  festival  of  the  Passover.  Though  never 
commanded  in  the  New  Testament,  it  can  be 
traced  back  to  men  who  say  that  they  had  it 
from  the  apostles ! 

Thus  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor  had  tlie  fes- 
tival from  Polycarp  who,  as  Eusebius  states  the 
claim  of  Polycarp,  had  "  observed  it  with  John 
the  disciple  of  our  Lord,  and  the  rest  of  the  apos- 


Sunday-lord's  day  not  apostolic.  227 

ties  with  whom  he  associated."^  Socrates  says 
of  them  that  they  maintain  that  this  observance 
"  was  delivered  to  them  by  the  apostle  John."  ^ 
Anatolius  says  of  these  Asiatic  Christians  that 
they  receivecl  "  the  rule  from  an  unimpeachable 
authority,  to  v/it,  the  evangelist  John."  ^ 

Nor  was  this  all.  The  western  churches  also, 
with  the  church  of  Rome  at  their  head,  were  stren- 
uous observers  of  the  Passover  festival.  They 
also  traced  the  festival  to  the  apostles.  Thus 
Socrates  says  of  them :  "  The  Romans  and  those 
in  the  western  parts  assure  us  that  their  usage 
originated  with  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul."^ 
But  he  says  these  parties  cannot  pi'ove  this  by 
written  testimony.  Sozomen  says  of  the  Romans, 
with  respect  to  the  Passover  festival,  that  they 
"  have  never  deviated  from  their  original  usage 
in  this  particular;  the  custom  having  been 
ha^nded  down  to  them  by  the  holy  apostles  Pe- 
ter and  Paul."  ^ 

If  the  Sunday-Lord's  day  could  be  traced  to  a 
man  who  claimed  to  have  celebrated  it  with  John 
and  other  of  the  apostles,  how  confidently  would 
this  be  cited  as  proving  positively  that  it  is  an 
apostolic  institution  !  And  yet  this  can  be  done 
in  the  case  of  the  Passover  festival  I  Neverthe- 
less, a  single  fact  in  the  case  of  this  very  festival 
is  sufficient  to  teach  us  the  folly  of  trusting  in 
tradition.  Poly  carp  claimed  that  John  and  other 
of  the  apostles  taught  him  to  observe  the  festival 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month,  what- 

lEusebins's  Eccl.  Hist.,  book  v.  chap.  xxiv. 
2Socrates's  Eccl.  Hist.,  book  v.  chap.  xxii. 
3  Anatolius,  Tenth  Fragment. 
-•Socrates's  Eccl.  Hist.,  book  v.  chap.  xxii. 
^Sozomen's  Eccl.  Hist.,  book  vii.  chap,  xviii.;    see   also  Mo- 
sheim,  book  i.  cent.  2,  part  ii.  chap  iv.  sect.  'J. 


228  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ever  day  of  the  week  it  might  be ;  while  the  eld- 
ers of  the  Roman  church  asserted  that  Peter  and 
Paul  taught  them  that  it  must  be  observed  on 
the  Sunday  following  Good  Friday  !  ^ 

The  Lord's  day  of  the  Catholic  church  can  be 
traced  no  nearer  to  John  than  A.  D.  194,  or  per- 
haps in  strict  truth  to  A.  D.  200,  and  those  who 
then  use  the  name  show  plainly  that  they  did 
not  believe  it  to  be  the  Lord's  day  by  apostolic 
appointment.  To  hide  these  fatal  facts  by  seem- 
ing to  trace  the  title  back  to  Ignatius  the  disciple 
of  John,  and  thus  to  identify  Sunday  with  the 
Lord's  day  of  that  apostle,  a  series  of  remarkable 
frauds  has  been  committed  which  we  have  had 
occasion  to  examine.  But  even  could  the  Sun- 
day-Lord's day  be  traced  to  Ignatius,  the  disciple 
of  John,  it  would  then  come  no  nearer  being  an 
apostolic  institution  than  does  the  Catholic  festi- 
val of  the  Passover,  which  can  be  traced  to  Poly- 
carp,  another  of  John's  disciples,  who  claimed  to 
have  received  it  from  John  himself  I 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE   FIRST   WITNESSES   FOR   SUNDAY. 

Origin  of  Sunday  observance  the  subject  of  present  inquiry 
— Contradictory  statements  of  Mosheim  and  Neander — The 
question  between  them  stated,  and  the  true  data  for  decid- 
ing that  question — The  New  Testament  furnishes  no  sup- 
port for  Mosheim's  statement — Epistle  of  Barnabas  a 
forgery — Tlie  testimony  of  Pliny  determines  nothing  in 
the  case — The  epistle  of  Ignatius  probably  spurious,  and 
certainly  interpolated  so  far  as  it  is  made  to  sustain  Sun- 
day— Decision  of  the  question. 

'Socrates's  Eccl.  Hist.,   book  v.   chap,  xxii.;  McClintock  and 
Strong's  Cycloi)edia,  vol.  iji.  p,  13  ;  Bingham's  Auti<iuities,  p.  1149. 


THE    FIRST   WITNP:SSES    FOR    SUNDAY.  229 

The  first  day  of  the  week  is  now  almost  uni- 
versally observed  as  the  Christian  Sabbath.  The 
origin  of  this  institution  is  still  before  us  as  the 
subject  of  inquiry.  This  is  presented  by  two 
eminent  church  historians;  but  so  directly  do 
they  contradict  each  other,  that  it  is  a  question 
of  curious  interest  to  determine  which  of  them 
states  the  truth.  Thus  Mosheim  writes  respect- 
ing the  first  century  : — 

"All  Christians  were  unanimous  in  setting  apart  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  on  which  the  triumphant  Saviour 
arose  from  the  dead,  for  the  solemn  celebration  of  public 
worship.  This  pious  custom,  which  was  derived  from 
the  example  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  was  founded  up- 
on the  express  appointment  of  the  apostles,  who  consecrat- 
ed that  day  to  the  same  sacred  purpose,  and  was  observed 
universally  throughout  the  Christian  churches,  as  appears 
from  the  united  testimonies  of  the  most  credible  writers."^ 

Now  let  us  read  what  Neander,  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  church  historians,  says  of  this 
apostolic  authority  for  Sunday  observance  : — 

' '  The  festival  of  Sunday,  like  all  other  festivals,  was 
always  only  a  human  ordinance,  and  it  was  far  from  the 
intentions  of  the  apostles  to  establish  a  divine  command 

iMaclaine's  Mosheim,  cent.  1,  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sec.  4.  I  have 
given  Maclaine's  translation,  not  because  it  is  an  accurate  version 
of  Mosheim,  but  because  it  is  so  much  used  in  support  of  the  first- 
day  Sabbath.  Maclaine  in  his  preface  to  Mosheim  says  :  "  L  have 
sometimes  taken  considerable  liberties  with  my  author."  And 
he  tells  us  what  these  liberties  were  by  saying  that  he  had  "often 
added  a  few  sentences,  to  render  an  observation  more  striking,  a 
fact  more  clear,  a  portrait  more  finished."  The  present  quota- 
tion is  an  instance  of  these  liberties.  Dr.  Murdock  of  New  Haven 
who  has  given  "a  close,  literal  version"  of  Mosheim,  gives  the 
passage  thus: — 

"The  Christians  of  this  century,  assembled  for  the  worship  of 
God,  and  for  their  advancement  in  piety,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  the  day  on  which  Christ  reassumed  his  life:  for  that  this 
day  was  set  apart  for  religious  worship,  by  the  apostles  them- 
selves, and  that,  after  the  example  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  it 
was  genera'Iy  observed,  we  have  unexceptionable  testimony." — 
MiM'dock^s  Mosheim-,  cent.  1,  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sec.  4. 


230  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

in  this  respect,  far  from  them,  and  from  the  early  apos- 
tolic church,  to  transfer  the  laws  of  the  Sabbath  to  Sun- 
day. Perhaps  at  the  end  of  the  second  century  a  false 
application  of  this  kind  had  begun  to  take  place ;  for  men 
appear  by  that  time  to  have  considered  laboring  on  Sun- 
day as  a  sin."^ 

How  shall  we  determine  which  of  these  histo- 
rians is  in  the  right  ?  Neither  of  them  lived  in 
the  apostolic  age  of  the  church.  Mosheim  was 
a  writer  of  the  eighteenth  centur}^,  and  Neander, 
of  the  nineteenth.  Of  necessity  therefore  they 
must  learn  the  facts  in  the  case  from  the  writ- 
ings of  that  period  which  have  come  down  to  us. 

1  Neander's  Church  History,  transhited  bj'  H.  J.  Rose,  p.  18G. 
To  break  the  force  of  this  strong  statement  of  Neander  that  "  the 
festival  of  Sunday,  like  all  other  festivals,  was  always  only  a  hu- 
man ordinance,  and  it  was  far  from  the  intentions  of  the  apostles 
to  establish  a  divine  command  in  this  respect,  far  from  them,  and 
from  the  early  apostolic  church,  to  transfer  the  laws  of  the  Sab- 
bath to  Sunda}","  two  things  have  been  said: — 

1.  That  Neaiader,  in  a  later  edition  of  his  work,  retracted  this 
declaration.  It  is  true  that  in  re-writing  his  work  he  omitted  this 
sentence.  But  he  inserted  nothing  of  a  contrary  character,  and 
the  general  tenor  of  the  revised  edition  is  in  this  place  precisely 
the  same  as  in  that  from  which  this  out-spoken  statement  is  taken. 

In  proof  of  this,  we  cite  from  the  later  edition  of  Neander  his 
statement  in  this  very  i)lace  of  what  constituted  Sunday  observ- 
ance in  the  carl}-  church.     He  says: — 

*'  Sunday  was  distinguished  as  a  day  of  joy,  by  being  exempted 
from  fasts,  and  by  the  circumstance  that  prayer  was  performed 
on  this  day  in  a  standing  and  not  in  a  kneeling  posture,  as 
Christ,  by  his  resurrection,  had  raised  up  fallen  man  again  to 
Heaven." — Torrejfs  Neander,  vol.  i.  p.  295,  ed.  1852. 

This  is  an  accurate  account  of  early  Sanda}'-  observance,  as  we 
shall  hereafter  show;  and  that  such  observance  was  only  a  human 
ordinance,  of  which  no  feature  was  ever  commanded  by  the  apos- 
tles, will  be  very  manifest  to  every  person  who  attempts  to  find 
any  precept  for  any  particular  of  it  in  the  New  Testament. 

2.  But  the  other  method  of  setting  aside  this  testimony  of  Ne- 
ander is  to  assert  that  he  did  not  mean  to  deny  that  the  apostles 
established  a  divine  command  for  Sunday  as  the  Christian  Sab- 
bath, but  meant  to  assert  that  they  did  not  establish  a  divine  com- 
mand for  Sunday  as  a  Catholic  "festival !  Those  who  make  this 
assei'tion  must  know  that  it  is  false.  Neander  expressly  denies 
that  the  apostles  either  constituted  or  recognized  Sunday  as  a 
Sabbath,  and  he  represents  Sunday  as  a  mere  festival  ii'om  the 
very  first  of  its  observance,  and  established  only  by  human  au- 
thority. 


THE    FIRST    Yf^ITNESSES    FOR    SUNDAY.  231 

These  contain  all  the  testimony  which  can  have 
any  claim  to  be  admitted  in  deciding  this  case. 
These  are,  first,  the  inspired  writings  of  the  New 
Testament;  second,  the  reputed  productions  of 
such  writers  of  thp.t  age  as  are  supposed  to  men- 
tion the  first  day,  viz.,  the  eJDistle  of  Barnabas ; 
the  letter  of  Pliny,  governor  of  Bythinia,  to  the 
emperor  Trajan;  and  the  epistle  of  Ignatius. 
These  are  all  the  writings  prior  to  the  middle  of 
the  second  century — and  this  is  late  enough  to 
amply  cover  the  ground  of  Mosheim's  statement — 
which  can  be  introduced  as  even  referring  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week. 

The  questions  to  be  decided  by  this  testimony 
are  these  :  Did  the  apostles  set  apart  Sunday  for 
divine  w^orship  (as  Mosheim  affirms)  ?  or  does 
the  evidence  in  the  case  show  that  the  festival 
of  Sunday,  like  all  other  festivals,  was  always 
only  a  human  ordinance  (as  is  afiirmed  by  Ne- 
ander)  ? 

It  is  certain  that  the  New  Testament  contains 
no  appointment  of  Sunday  for  the  solemn  cele- 
bration of  public  worship.  And  it  is  equally  true 
that  there  is  no  example  of  the  church  of  Jeru- 
salem on  v/hich  to  found  such  observance.  The 
New  Testament  therefore  furnishes  no  support  ^ 
for  the  statement  of  Mosheim. 

The  three  epistles  which  have  come  down  to 
us  purporting  to  have  been  written  in  the  apos- 
tolic age,  or  immediately  subsequent  to  that  age, 
next  come  under  examination.  These  are  all  that 
remain  to  us  of  a  period  more  extended  than  that 
embraced  in  the  statemxent  of  Mosheim.  He 
speaks  of  the  first  century  only ;  but  v/e  summon 

1  See  chaptei's  x.  and  xi ,  in  which  the  New  Testament  has  been 
carefully  examined  on  this  point. 


232  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

all  the  writers  of  that  century,  and  of  the  follow- 
ing one  prior  to  the  time  of  Justin  Martyr,  A.  T>. 
140,  who  are  even  supposed  to  mention  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  Thus  the  reader  is  furnished 
with  all  the  data  in  the  case.  The  epistle  of  Bar- 
nabas speaks  as  follows  in  behalf  of  first-day  ob- 
servance : — 

' '  Lastly  he  saitli  unto  them,  Your  new-moons  and  your 
sabbaths  I  cannot  bear  them.  Consider  what  he  means 
by  it ;  the  sabbaths,  says  he,  which  ye  now  keep,  are  not 
accceptable  unto  me,  but  those  which  I  have  made  ;  when 
resting  from  all  things,  I  shall  begin  the  eighth  day,  that 
is,  the  beginning  of  the  other  world ;  for  which  cause  we 
observe  the  eighth  day  with  gladness,  in  which  Jesus 
arose  from  the  dead,  and  having  manifested  himself  to 
his  disciples,  ascended  into  Heaven."^ 

It  might  be  reasonably  concluded  that  Mo- 
sheim  would  place  great  reliance  upon  this  testi- 
mony as  coming  from  an  apostle,  and  as  being 
somewhat  better  suited  to  sustain  the  sacredness 
of  Sunday  than  anything  previously  examined 
by  us.  Yet  he  frankly  acknowledges  that  this 
epistle  is  spurious.     Thus  he  says  : — 

*'The  epistle  of  Barnabas  was  the  production  of  some 
Jew,  who,  most  probably,  lived  in  this  century,  and  whose 
mean  abilities  and  superstitious  attachment  to  Jewish  fa- 
bles, show,  notwithstanding  the  uprightness  of  his  inten- 
tions, that  he  must  have  been  a  very  different  person 
from  the  true  Barnabas,  who  was  St.  Paul's  comiDanion."  - 

In  another  work,  Mosheim  says  of  this  epis- 
tle :— 

"As  to  what  is  suggested  by  some,  of  its  having  been 
%\'Titten  by  that  Barnabas  who  was  the  friend  and  com- 
panion of  St,  Paul,  the  futility  of  such  a  notion  is  easily 

1  Epistle  of  Barnabas  13  :  9,  10  ;  or,  as  otherft  divide  the  epistle, 
chapter  15.  s 

sfecel.  Hist.,  cent.  1,  part  ii.  chap.  ii.  sect.  21, 


THE    FIRST   WITNESSES    FOR    SUXDAY.  233 

to  be  made  apparent  from  the  letter  itself ;  several  of  the 
opinions  and  interpretations  of  Scripture  which  it  con- 
tains, having  in  them  so  little  of  either  truth,  dignity  or 
force,  as  to  render  it  impossible  that  they  could  ever  have 
proceeded  from  the  ^en  of  a  man  divinely  instructed."^ 

Neander  speaks  thus  of  this  epistle : — 

"  It  is  impossible  that  we  should  acknowledge  this  epis- 
tle to  belong  to  that  Barnabas  who  was  worthy  to  be  the 
companion  of  the  apostolic  labors  of  St,  Paul."  ^ 

Prof.  Stuart  bears  a  similar  testimony : — 

"  That  a  man  by  the  name  of  Barnabas  wrote  this  epis- 
tle I  doubt  not ;  that  the  chosen  associate  of  Paul  wrote 
it,  I  with  many  others  must  doubt."  ^ 

Dr.  Killen,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History, 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Ireland,  uses  the  following  language  : — 

"  The  tract  known  as  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  was  prob- 
ably composed  in  A.  d.  135.  It  is  the  production  appar- 
ently of  a  convert  from  Judaism  who  took  special  pleasure 
in  allegorical  interpretation  of  Scripture. "  * 

Prof.  Hackett  bears  the  following  testimony  : — 

"The  letter  still  extant,  wliich  was  known  as  that  of 
Barnabas  even  in  the  second  century,  cannot  be  defended 
as  genuine."^ 

Mr.  Milner  speaks  of  the  reputed  epistle  of 
Barnabas  as  follows  : — 

"  It  is  a  great  injury  to  him  to  apprehend  the  epistle, 
which  goes  by  his  name,  to  be  his."  ® 

Kitto  speaks  of  this  production  as, 

1  Historical  Commentaries,  cent.  1,  sect.  53. 

2  Rose's  Xeander,  p.  407. 

3  Note  appended  to  Gurney's  History, 'Authority,  and  Use  of 
the  Sabbath,  p.  86. 

4  Ancient  Church,  pp.  3G7,  368. 

5  Commentary  on  Acts,  p.  251. 

*' History  of  the  Church,  cent.  1,  chap.  xv. 

Saliljath  Ilistnrv,  1« 


234  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

"  The  ao-called  epistle  of  Barnabas,  probably  a  forgery  of 
tlie  second  century."^ 

Says  the  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowledge, 
speaking  of  the  Barnabas  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment : — 

"He  could  not  be  the  author  of  a  work  so  full  of 
forced  allegories,  extravagant  and  unwarrantable  expli- 
cations of  Scripture,  together  with  stories  concerning 
beasts,  and  such  like  conceits,  as  make  up  the  first  part 
of  this  epistle." - 

Eusebius,  the  earliest  of  church  historians, 
places  this  epistle  in  the  catalogue  of  spurious 
books.     Thus  he  says  : — 

''Among  the  spurious  must  be  numbered  both  the 
books  called,  'The  Acts  of  Paul,'  and  that  called,  '  Pas- 
tor,' and  'The  Revelation  of  Peter.'  Besides  these  the 
books  called  'The  Epistle  of  Barnabas,'  and  what  are 
called,  '  The  Institutions  of  the  Apostles.'  "  ^ 

Sir  Wm.  Domville  speaks  as  follows  : — 

' '  But  the  epistle  was  not  written  by  Barnabas ;  it  was 
not  merely  unworthy  of  him, — it  would  be  a  disgrace  to 
him,  and  what  is  of  much  more  consequence,  it  would  be 
a  disgrace  to  the  Christian  religion,  as  being  the  produc- 
tion of  one  of  the  authorized  teachers  of  that  religion  in 
the  times  of  the  apostles,  which  circumstance  would  se- 
riously damage  the  evidence  of  its  divine  origin.  Not 
being  the  epistle  of  Barnabas,  the  document  is,  as  regards 
the  Sabbath  question,  nothing  more  than  the  testimony 
of  some  unknown  w^riter  to  the  practice  of  Sunday  ob- 
servance by  some  Christians  of  some  unknown  communi- 
ty, at  some  uncertain  period  of  the  Christian  era,  with  no 
sufficient  ground  for  believing  that  period  to  have  been 
the  first  century. "  * 

1  Cjc.  Bib.  Lit.,  art.  Lord's  day,  tenth  ed.  1S58. 
2Encvc.  of  Rel.  Kuowl.,  art.  Barnabas'  Epistle. 

2  Ecci.  Hist.,  book  iii.  chap.  xxv. 

*Tlie  Sabbath,  or  an  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts  commonly 
adduced  from  the  New  Testament  in  proof  of  a  Christian  Sabbath, 
p.  233. 


THE    FIRST    WITNESSES    FOR    SUNDAY.  235 

Coleman  bears  the  following  testimony  : — 

''  The  epistle  of  Barnabas,  bearing  the  honored  name 
of  the  companion  of  Paul  in  his  missionary  labors,  is  evi- 
dently spurious.  It  abounds  in  fabulous  narratives,  mys- 
tic, allegorical  interpretations  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
fanciful  conceits,  and  is  generally  agreed  by  the  learned 
to  be  of  no  authority."  ^ 

As  a  specimen  of  the  unreasonable  and  absurd 
things  contained  in  this  epistle,  the  following  pas- 
sage is  quoted : — 

"Neither  shalt  thou  eat  of  the  hyena:  that  is,  again, 
be  not  an  adulterer ;  nor  a  corrupter  of  others ;  neither 
be  like  to  such.  And  wherefore  so  ?  Because  that  crea- 
ture every  year  changes  its  kind,  and  is  sometimes  male, 
and  sometimes  female." " 

Thus  first-day  historians  being  allowed  to  de- 
cide the  case,  we  are  authorized  to  treat  this  epis- 
tle as  a  forgery.  And  whoever  will  read  its  ninth 
chapter — for  it  will  not  bear  quoting — will  ac- 
knowledge the  justice  of  this  conclusion.  This 
epistle  is  the  only  v/riting  purporting  to  come 
from  the  first  century  except  the  New  Testament, 
in  which  the  first  day  is  even  referred  to.  That 
this  furnishes  no  support  for  Sunday  observance, 
even  Mosheim  acknowledges. 

The  next  document  that  claims  our  attention 
is  the  letter  of  Pliny,  the  Roman  governor  of 
Bythinia,  to  the  emperor  Trajan.  It  was  wiitten 
about  A.  D.  104.  He  says  of  the  Christians  of 
his  province : — 

' '  They  ajffirmed  that  the  whole  of  their  guilt  or  error 
was,  that  they  met  on  a  certain  stated  day,  before  it  was 
light,  and  addressed  themselves  in  a  form  of  j)rayer  to 
Christ,  as  to  some  god,  binding  themselves  by  a  solemn 
oath,  not  for  the  purposes  of  any  wicked  design,  but  never 
to  commit  any  fraud,  theft,  or  adultery ;  never  to  falsify 

1  Ancient  Christianity,  chap,  i,  sect.  2. 

2  I^pistle  of  Barnabas,  9:8.     In  some  editions  it  is  chap.  10. 


236  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

their  word,  nor  deny  a  trust  vrlien  tliey  should  be  called 
upon  to  deliver  it  up ;  after  which  it  was  their  custom  to 
separate,  and  then  re-assemble  to  eat  in  common  a  harm- 
less meal. "  ^ 

This  epistle  of  Pliny  certainly  furnishes  no  sup- 
port for  Sunday  observance.  The  case  is  pre- 
sented in  a  candid  manner  by  Coleman.  He  says 
of  this  extract : — 

*'This  statement  is  evidence  that  these  Christians  kept 
a  day  as  holy  time,  but  whether  it  was  the  last  or  the  first 
day  of  the  v.^eek,  does  not  appear. " " 

Charles  Buck,  an  eminent  first-day  writer,  saw 
no  evidence  in  this  epistle  of  first-day  observance, 
as  is  manifest  from  the  indefinite  translation 
which  he  gives  it.     Thus  he  cites  the  epistle : — 

'^  These  persons  declare  that  their  whole  crime,  if  they 
are  guilty,  consists  in  this :  that  on  certain  days  they  as- 
semble before  sunrise  to  sing  alternately  the  praises  of 
Christ  as  of  God."^ 

Tertullian,  who  wrote  A.  D.  200,  speaks  of  this 
very  statement  of  Pliny  thus  : — 

"  He  found  in  their  religious  services  nothing  but  meet- 
ings at  early  morning  for  singing  hymns  to  Christ  and 
God,  and  sealing  home  their  way  of  life  by  a  united  pledge 
to  be  faithful  to  their  religion,  forbidding  murder,  adul- 
tery, dishonesty,  and  other  crimes."  ^ 

Tertullian  certainly  found  in  this  no  reference 
to  the  festival  of  Sunday. 

Mr.  W.  B.  Taylor  speaks  of  this  stated  day  as 
follows : — 

^'  As  the  Sabbath  day  appears  to  have  been  quite  as 
commonly  observed  at  this  date  as  the  sun's  day  (if  not 
even  more  so),  it  is  just  as  probable  that  this  *  stated  day ' 

1  Coleman's  Ancient  Christianity,  pp.  35,  30. 
"Ancient  Christianity  Exemplified,  chap.  2il.  sect.  2. 
-  JJiick's  Theolotrical  Dictionary,  art.  Christians, 
^  Tcrtullian's  Apoloijjy,  sect.  2. 


THE    FIRST    WITNESSES    FOR   SUNDAY.  237 

referred  to  by  Pliny  was  the  seventh  day,  as  that  it  was 
the  first  day ;  though  the  latter  is  generally  taken  for 
granted."^ 

Taking  for  granted  the  very  point  that  should 
be  proved,  is  no  new  feature  in  the  evidence  thus 
far  examined  in  support  of  first-day  observ- 
ance. Although  Mosheim  relies  on  this  expres- 
sion of  Pliny  as  a  chief  support  of  Sunday,  yet 
he  speaks  thus  of  the  opinion  of  another  learned 
man : — 

^'B.  Just.  Hen.  Boehmer,  would  indeed  have  us  to  un- 
derstand this  day  to  have  been  the  same  with  the  Jewish 
Sabbath."" 

This  testimony  of  Pliny  was  written  a  few 
years  subsequent  to  the  time  of  the  apostles.  It 
relates  to  a  church  which  probably  had  been 
founded  by  the  apostle  Peter.  ^  It  is  certainly 
far  more  probable  that  this  church,  only  forty 
years  after  the  death  of  Peter,  was  keeping  the 
fourth  commandment,  than  that  it  was  observing 
a  day  never  enjoined  by  divine  authority.  It 
must  be  conceded  that  this  testimony  from  Pliny 
proves  nothing  in  support  of  Sunday  observance  ; 
for  it  does  not  designate  what  day  of  the  week 
was  thus  observed. 

The  epistles  of  Ignatius  of  Antioch  so  often 
quoted  in  behalf  of  first-day  observance,  next 
claim  our  attention.  He  is  represented  as  say- 
ing:— 

"  Wherefore  if  they  who  are  brought  up  in  these  an- 
cient laws  came  nevertheless  to  the  newness  of  hope ;  no 
longer  observing  sabbaths,  but  keeping  the  Lord's  day, 
in  which  also  our  life  is  sprung  up  by  him,  and  tlirough 

1  Obligation  of  the  Sabbath,  p.  300. 

2  Historical  Commentaries,  cent.  1,  sect.  47. 

8 1  Pet.  1 : 1.  See  Clarke's  Commentary,  preface  to  the  epis- 
tles of  Peter. 


238  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

his  death,  whom  yet  some  deny  (by  which  mystery  we 
have  been  brought  to  believe,  and  therefore  wait  that  we 
may  be  found  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  mas- 
ter) :  how  shall  we  be  able  to  live  different  from  him ; 
whose  disciples  the  very  prophets  themselves  being,  did 
by  the  Spirit  expect  him  as  their  master."^ 

Two  important  facts  relative  to  this  quotation 
are  worthy  of  particular  notice :  1.  That  the 
epistles  of  Ignatius  are  acknowledged  to  be  spuri- 
ous by  first-day  wiiters  of  high  authority ;  and 
those  epistles  which  some  of  them  except  as  pos- 
sibly genuine,  do  not  include  in  their  number  the 
epistle  to  the  Magnesians  from  which  the  above 
quotation  is  made,  nor  do  they  say  anything  rel- 
ative to  first-day  observance.  2.  That  the  epis- 
tle to  the  Magnesians  would  say  nothing  of  any 
day,  were  it  not  that  the  word  day  had  been 
fraudulently  inserted  by  the  translator  1  In  sup- 
port of  the  first  of  these  propositions  the  follow- 
ing testimony  is  adduced.  Dr.  Killen  speaks  as 
follows : — 

*'In  the  sixteenth  century,  fifteen  letters  were  brought 
out  from  beneath  the  mantle  of  a  hoary  antiquity,  and 
offered  to  the  world  as  the  productions  of  the  pastor  of 
Antioch.  Scholars  refused  to  receive  them  on  the  terms 
required,  and  forthwith  eight  of  them  were  admitted  to 
be  forgeries.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  seven  re- 
maining letters,  in  a  somewhat  altered  form,  again  came 
forth  from  obscurity,  and  claimed  to  be  the  works  of  Ig- 
natius. Again  discerning  critics  refused  to  acknov,dedge 
their  pretensions ;  but  curiosity  was  roused  by  this  sec- 
ond apparition,  and  many  expressed  an  earnest  desire  to 
obtain  a  sight  of  the  real  epistles.  Greece,  Syria,  Pales- 
tine, and  Egypt,  were  ransacked  in  search  of  them,  and 
at  length  three  letters  are  found.  The  discovery  creates 
general  gratulation ;  it  is  confessed  that  four  of  the  epis- 
tles so  lately  asserted  to  be  genuine,  are  apocryphal ;  and 

1 1/jnatius  to  the  Magnesians,  3  :  0-5 ;  or,  as  others  divide  the 
ci)isuc,  chap.  9. 


THE    FIRST    WITNESSES    FOR    SUNDAY.  239 

it  is  boldly  said  that  the  three  now  forthcoming  are  above 
challenge.  But  truth  still  refuses  to  be  compromised,  and 
sternly  disowns  these  claimants  for  her  approbation.  The 
internal  evidence  of  these  three  epistles  abundantly  at- 
tests that,  like  the  last  three  books  of  the  Sibyl,  they  are 
only  the  last  shifts  of  a  grave  imiDosture. "  ^ 

The  same  writer  thus  states  the  opinion  of 
Calvin : — 

^'  It  is  no  mean  proof  of  the  sagacity  of  the  great  Cal- 
vin, that,  upwards  of  three  hundred  years  ago,  he  passed 
a  sweeping  sentence  of  condemnation  on  these  Ignatian 
epistles." " 

Of  the  three  epistles  of  Ignatius  still  claimed 
as  genuine,  Prof.  C.  F.  Hudson  speaks  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  Ignatius  of  Antioch  was  martyred  probably  A.  d.  115. 
Of  the  eight  epistles  ascribed  to  him,  three  are  genuine ; 
viz, ,  those  addressed  to  Polycarp,  the  Ephesians,  and  the 
Romans."  ^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  three  epistles  which 
are  here  mentioned  as  genuine  do  not  include  that 
epistle  from  which  the  quotation  in  behalf  of 
Sunday  is  taken,  and  it  is  a  fact  also  that  they 
contain  no  allusion  to  Sunday.  Sir.  Wm.  Dom- 
ville,  an  anti- Sabbatarian  writer,  uses  the  fol- 
lowing language : — ■ 

"Every  one  at  all  conversant  with  such  matters  is 
awa,re  that  the  works  of  Ignatius  have  been  more  interpo- 
lated and  corrupted  than  those  of  any  other  of  the  ancient 
fathers ;  and  also  that  some  writings  have  been  attributed 
to  him  which  are  wholly  spurious."  * 

Robinson,  an  eminent  English  Baptist  writer 
of  the  last  century,  expresses  the  following  opin- 

1  Ancient  Church,  pp.  413,  414.  2  id.  p.  427. 

3  Future  Life,  p.  290. 

*  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts,  p.  237. 


240  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ion  of  the  epistles  ascribed  to  Ignatius,  Barnabas, 
and  others : — 

"If  any  of  the  writings  attributed  to  those  who  are 
called  apostolical  fathers,  as  Ignatius,  teacher  at  Antioch, 
Polycarp,  at  )Smyrna,  Barnabas,  who  was  half  a  Jew,  and 
Hennas,  who  was  brother  to  Pius,  teacher  at  Rome,  if 
any  of  these  be  genuine,  of  which  there  is  great  reason  to 
doubt,  they  only  prove  the  piety  and  illiteracy  of  the 
good  men.  Some  are  worse,  and  the  best  not  better,  than 
the  godly  epistles  of  the  lower  sort  of  Baptists  and  Qua- 
kers in  the  time  of  the  civil  war  in  England.  Barnabas 
and  Hermas  both  mention  baptism ;  but  both  of  these 
books  are  contemptible  reveries  of  wild  and  irregular  gen- 
iuses." ^ 

The  doubtful  character  of  these  Ignatian  epis- 
tles is  thus  sufficiently  attested.  The  quotation 
in  behalf  of  Sunday  is  not  taken  from  one  of  the 
three  epistles  that  are  still  claimed  as  genuine ; 
and  what  is  still  further  to  be  observed,  it  would 
say  nothing  in  behalf  of  any  day  were  it  not  for 
an  extraordinary  license,  not  to  say  fraud,  which 
the  translator  has  used  in  inserting  the  word  day. 
This  fact  is  shown  with  critical  accuracy  by  Kit- 
to,  whose  Cyclopedia  is  in  high  repute  among 
first-day  scholars.  Thus  he  presents  the  original 
of  Ignatius  with  comments  and  a  translation  as 
follows  : — 

' '  We  must  hero  notice  one  other  passage  ...  as  bear- 
ing on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  day,  though  it  certainly 
contains  no  mention  of  it.  It  occurs  in  the  epistle  of  Ig- 
natius to  the  Magnesians  (about  a.  d.  100.)  The  whole 
passage  is  confessedly  obscure,  and  the  text  may  be  cor- 
rupt. .   .  .  The  passage  is  as  follows  : — . 

El  ovv  6l  hv  TTaXaiolc  iTQuy/iaaiu  avaaTQacbtvrea,  eJf  Kaivdrrjra 
k'k'KidoQ  fjl'&oD — iirjhht  oaf^iyaTii^opTeg,  ciTJm  Kara  KvgiaKyv  ^ui)^ 
^(jpreg — (ev  ?)  kul  ?}  ^cj?)  7/fi(Jv  avtT€t?i£V  61'  avrov,  etc.)  ^ 

» Ecclesiastical  Researches,  chap.  vi.  pp.  50,  51,  ed.  1702. 
2  Ignatius  ad  Magnesios,  sect.  9. 


THE    FIRST    WITNESSES    FOR    SUNDAY.  241 

"Now  many  coriimentators  assume  (on  what  ground 
does  not  appear),   that  after  Kvptanrjv  [Lord's]  the  word 

rifxkpav  [day]  is  to  be  understood Let  us  now  look 

at  the  passage  simply  as  it  stands.  The  defect  of  the  sen- 
tence is  the  w^ant  of  a  substantive  to  which  av-ov  can  re- 
fer. This  defect,  so  far  from  being  remedied,  is  ren- 
dered still  more  glaring  by  the  introduction  of  ////fpa.  Now 
if  we.  take  KvpiaKTj  ^w/)  as  simply  'the  life  of  the  Lord,' 
having  a  more  personal  meaning,  it  certainly  goes  nearer 

to  supplying  the  substantive  to  avrov Thus  upon 

the  whole  the  meaning  might  be  given  thus : — 

"  If  those  who  lived  under  the  old  dispensation  have 
come  to  the  newness  of  hope,  no  longer  keeping  sabbaths, 
but  living  according  to  our  Lord's  life  (in  which,  as  it 
were,  our  life  has  risen  again  through  him,  &c.)     .     .     . 

"  On  this  view  the  passage  does  not  refer  at  all  to  the 
Lord's  day ;  but  even  on  the  opposite  supposition  it  can- 
not be  regarded  as  affording  any  positive  evidence  to  the 
early  use  of  the  term  '  Lord's  day '  (for  which  it  is  often 
cited),  since  the  material  word  ?///f^a  [day]  is  purely  con- 
jectural." ^ 

The  learned  Morer,  a  clergyman  of  the  cliurch 
of  England,  confirms  this  statement  of  Kitto. 
He  renders  Ignatius  thus : — 

''  If  therefore  they  who  were  well  versed  in  the  works  of 
ancient  days  came  to  newness  of  hope,  not  sabbatizing, 

but  living  according  to  the  dominical  life,  &c 

The  Medicean  copy,  the  best  and  most  like  that  of  Euse- 
biu.s,  leaves  no  scruple,  because  C^^z/p  is  expressed  and  de- 
termines the  word  dominical  to  the  person  of  Christ,  and 
not  to  the  day  of  his  resurrection."  - 

Sir  Wm.  Domville  speaks  on  this  point  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"Judging  therefore  by  the  tenor  of  the  epistle  itself, 
the  literal  translation  of  the  passage  in  discussion,  '  no 
longer  observing  sabbaths,  but  living  according  to  the 
Lord's  life,'  appears  to  give  its  true  and  proper  meaning; 


1  Crc.  Bib.  Lit.,  art.  Lord's  day. 

2  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  pp.  206,  207. 


242  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

and  if  this  be  so,  Ignatius,  whom  Mr.  Giirney  ^  puts  f or- 
vrard  as  a  material  witness  to  prove  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day  in  the  beginning  of  tlie  second  century,  fails 
to  prove  any  such  fact,  it  appearing  on  a  thorough  exam- 
ination of  his  testimony  that  he  does  not  even  mention 
the  Lord's  day,  nor  in  any  way  allude  to  the  religious  ob- 
servance of  it,  whether  by  that  name  or  by  any  other.  "^ 

It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  this  famous  quo- 
tation has  no  reference  whatever  to  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  and  that  it  furnishes  no  evidence 
that  that  day  was  known  in  the  time  of  Ignatius 
by  the  title  of  Lord's  day.^  The  evidence  is  now 
before  the  reader  which  must  determine  whether 
Moshiem  or  Neander  spoke  in  accordance  with 
the  facts  in  the  case.  And  thus  it  appears  that 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  in  the  uninspired 
writers  of  the  period  referred  to,  there  is  abso- 
hitely  nothing  to  sustain  the  strong  Sunday 
statement  of  Mosheim.  When  we  come  to  the 
fourth  century,  we  shall  find  a  statement  by  him 
which  essentially  modifies  what  he  has  here  said. 
Of  the  epistles  ascribed  to  Barnabas,  Pliny,  and 
Ignatius,  we  have  found  that  the  first  is  a  for- 
gery; that  the  second  speaks  of  a  stated  day 
without  defining  what  one;  and  that  the  third, 
which  is  probably  a  spurious  document,  would 
say  nothing  relative  to  Sunday,  if  the  advocates 
of  first-day  sacredness  had  not  interpolated  the 
word  day  into  the  document !  We  can  hardly 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  Mosheim  spoke  on  this 
subject  as  a  doctor  of  divinity,  and  not  as  a  his- 

lA  lirst-day  writer,  author  of  the  "History,  Authority,  and 
Use,  of  the  Sabbath." 

2  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts,  pp.  250,  251. 

3  For  a  more  full  statement  of  the  case  of  Ignatius,  see  the 
"  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,"  pp.  2G-30.  The  quotation  from  Ig- 
natius examined  in  this  chapter  is  there  shown,  according  to  the 
connection,  to  relate,  not  to  New-Testament  Christians,  but  to  the 
ancient  prophets. 


EXAMINATION  OF  A  FAMOUS  FALSEHOOD.   243 

torian ;  and  with  the  firmest  conviction  that  we 
speak  the  truth,  we  say  with  Neander,  "  The  fes- 
tival of  Sunday  was  always  only  a  human  ordi- 
nance." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

EXAMINATION   OF  A   FAMOUS   FALSEHOOD. 

Were  the  martyrs  in  Pliny '«  time  and  afterward  tested  by 
the  question  whether  they  had  kept  Sunday  or  not  ? — Ar- 
gument in  the  affirmative  quoted  from  Edwards — Its  origin 
— No  facts  to  sustain  such  an  argument  prior  to  the  fourth, 
century — A  single  instance  at  the  opening  of  that  century 
all  that  can  be  claimed  in  support  of  the  assertion — Sun- 
day not  even  alluded  to  in  that  instance — Testimony  of 
Mosheim  relative  to  the  work  in  which  this  is  found. 

Certain  doctors  of  divinity  have  made  a  special 
effort  to  show  that  the  "  stated  day  "  of  Pliny's 
epistle  is  the  first  day  of  the  week.  *  For  this  pur- 
pose they  adduce  a  fabulous  narrative  which  the 
more  reliable'  historians  of  the  church  have  not 
deemed  worthy  of  record.  The  argument  is  this  : 
That  in  Pliny's  time  and  afterward,  that  is,  from 
the  close  of  the  first  century  and  onward,  when- 
ever the  Christians  were  brought  before  their 
persecutors  for  examination,  they  were  asked 
whether  they  had  kept  the  Lord's  day,  this  term 
being  used  to  designate  the  first  da}^  of  the  week. 
And  hence  two  facts  are  asserted  to  be  estab- 
lished :  1.  That  when  Phny  says  that  the  Chris- 
tians who  were  examined  by  him  were  accus- 
tomed to  meet  on  a  stated  day,  that  day  was  un- 
doubtedly the  first  day  of  the  week.  2.  That 
the  observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week  was 


244  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  grand  test  by  which  Christians  were  known 
to  their  heathen  persecutors.  3.  That  Lord's 
day  was  the  name  by  which  the  first  day  of  the 
week  was  known  in  the  time  of  Phny,  a  few 
years  after  the  death  of  John.  To  prove  these 
points,  Dr.  Edwards  makes  the  following  state- 
ment : — 

"Hence  the  fact  that  their  persecutors,  when  they 
wished  to  know  wliether  men  were  Christians,  were  ac- 
customed to  put  to  them  this  question,  viz. ,  '  Dominicum 
servastir — '  Hast  thou  kept  the  Lord's  day?'  If  they  had 
they  were  Christians.  This  was  the  badge  of  their  Chris- 
tianity, in  distinction  from  Jews  and  pagans.  And  if 
they  said  they  had,  and  woukl  not  recant,  they  must  be 
put  to  death.  And  what,  when  they  continued  steadfast, 
was  their  answer  ?  '  Christianus  sum;  intermittere  non pos- 
sum ; ' — '  I  am  a  Christian  ;  I  cannot  omit  it. '  It  is  a 
badge  of  my  religion,  and  the  man  who  assumes  it  must 
of  course  keep  the  Lord's  day,  because  it  is  the  will  of  his 
Lord  ;  and  should  he  abandon  it,  he  would  be  an  apostate 
from  his  religion."^ 

Mr.  Gurney,  an  English  first-day  writer  of 
some  note,  uses  the  same  argument  and  for  the 
same  purpose.^  The  importance  attached  to  this 
statement,  and  the  prominence  given  to  it  by  the 
advocates  of  first-day  sacredness,  render  it  proper 
that  its  merits  should  be  examined.  Dr.  Edwards 
gives  no  authority  for  his  statement;  but  Mr. 
Gurney  traces  the  story  to  Dr.  Andrews,  bishop 
of  Winchester,  who  claimed  to  have  taken  it  from 
the  Acta  Martyrimi,  an  ancient  collection  of  the 
acts  of  the  martyrs.  It  was  in  the  early  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century  that  Bishop  Andrews 
first  brought  this  forward  in  his  speech  in  the 
court  of  Star  Chamber,  against  Thraske,  who  was 

1  Sabbath  Manual,  p.  120. 

*See  his  "  llistory,  Authority,  and  Use,  of  the  Sabbath,"  chap, 
iv.  i)p.  87,  88. 


EXAMINATION    OF    A    FAMOUS    FALSEHOOD.        245 

accused  before  tliat  arbitrary  tribunal  of  main- 
taining the  heretical  opinion  that  Christians  are 
bound  to  keep  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord.  The  story  was  first  produced,  there- 
fore, for  the  purpose  of  confounding  an  observer 
of  the  Sabbath  when  on  trial  by  his  enemies  for 
keeping  that  day.  Sir  Wm.  Domville,  an  able 
an ti- Sabbatarian  writer,  thus  traces  out  the  mat- 
ter : — 

''  The  bislioi),  as  we  have  seen,  refers  to  the  Acta  of 
the  martyrs  as  justifying  his  assertion  respecting  the 
question,  Dominicum  servasti?  but  he  does  not  cite  a  sin- 
gle instance  from  them  in  which  that  question  was  put.  We 
are  left  therefore  to  hunt  out  the  instances  for  ourselves, 
wherever,  if  anywhere,  they  are  to  be  found.  The  most 
complete  collection  of  the  memoirs  and  legends  still  ex- 
tant, relative  to  the  lives  and  sufferings  of  the  Christian 
martrys,  is  that  by  Ruinart,  entitled,  ^  Acta  primormn 
Marty  nun  sincera  et  selecta. '  I  have  carefully  consulted 
that  work,  and  I  take  upon  myself  to  affirm  that  among 
the  questions  there  stated  to  have  been  put  to  the  mar- 
tyrs in  and  before  the  time  of  Pliny,  and  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years  afterwards,  the  question,  Dominicum  ser- 
vasti? does  not  once  occur ;  nor  any  equivalent  question."^ 

This  shows  at  once  that  no  proof  can  be  ob- 
tained from  this  quarter,  either  that  the  "  stated 
day  "  of  Pliny  was  the  first  day  of  the  week,  or 
that  the  martyrs  of  the  early  church  were  tested 
by  the  question  whether  they  had  observed  it  or 
not.  It  also  shows  the  statement  to  be  false  that 
the  martyrs  of  Pliny's  time  called  Sunday  the 
Lord's  day  and  kept  it  as  such.  After  quoting 
all  the  questions  put  to  martyrs  in  and  before 
Pliny's  time,  and  thus  proving  that  no  such  ques- 
tion as  is  alleged,  was  put  to  them,  Domville 
says  : — 

1  Examination  of  tlu"  Six  Texts,  pp.  25S-2G1. 


2.1:6  HISTORY    OB^    THE    SADBATH. 

'' This  much  may  suffice  to  show  that  Doinhiknm  ser- 
rasti  ?  was  no  question  in  Plinj-'s  time,  as  Mr.  Gurney  in- 
tends us  to  believe  it  was.  I  have,  however,  still  other 
proof  of  INIr.  Gurney's  unfair  dealing  with  the  subject, 
but  I  defer  stating  it  for  the  present,  that  I  may  proceed 
in  the  inquuy,  What  may  have  been  the  authority  on 
which  Bishop  Andrews  relied  Avhen  stating  that  Domini- 
ciim  servasti  ?  was  ever  a  usual  q^^estion  put  by  the  hea- 
then persecutors  ?  I  shall  with  this  view  pass  over  the 
martyrdoms  which  intervened  between  Pliny's  time  and 
the  fourth  century,  as  they  contain  nothing  to  the  pur- 
pose, and  shall  come  at  once  to  that  martyi-dom  the  nar- 
rative of  which  was,  I  have  no  doubt,  the  source  from 
which  Bishop  Andrews  derived  his  question,  Dominicum 
servasti?  'Hold  you  the  Lf)rd's  day T  This  martyrdom 
happened  a.  d.  304.^  The  sufierers  were  Saturninus  and 
his  four  sons,  and  several  other  persons.  They  were 
taken  to  Carthage,  and  brought  before  the  proconsul  Am- 
ulinus.  In  the  account  given  of  their  examinations  by 
him,  the  phrases,  '  Celebkare  Dominicum,'  and  'Agere 
Dominicum,'  frequently  occur,  but  in  no  instance  is  the 
verb  '^Y'rmrc '  used  in  reference  to  Dominicum.  I  men- 
tion this  chiefly  to  show  that  when  Bishop  Andrews,  al- 
luding, as  no  doubt  he  does,  to  the  narrative  of  this  mar- 
tyrdom, says  the  question  was,  Dominicum  sermsti?  it  is 
very  clear  he  had  not  his  author  at  hand,  and  that  in 
trusting  to  his  memory,  he  coined  a  phrase  of  his  own."" 

Domville  quotes  at  length  the  conversation  be- 
tween tlie  proconsul  and  the  martyrs,  wliicli  is 
quite  similar  in  most  respects  to  Gurney's  and 
Edward's  quotation  from  Andrews.  He  then 
adds  : — 

"  The  narrative  of  the  martyrdom  of  Saturninus  being 
the  only  one  which  has  the  appearance  of  supporting  the 
assertion  of  Bishop  Andrews  that,  '  Hold  you  the  Lord's 
day  ?'  was  the  usual  question  to  the  martjTS,  v.hat  if  I 
sliould  prove  that  even  this  narrative  alfords  no  support 
to  that  assertion  ?  yet  nothing  is  more  easy  than  this 
proof  ;  for  Bishop  Andrews  has  quite  mistaken  the  mean- 

1  The  date  in  Baronius  is  a.  d.  303. 

2  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts,  pp.  2G3-265. 


EXAMINATION    OF    A    FAMOUS    FALSEHOOD.        24:7 

ing  of  the  word  Dominicum  in  translating  it  '  the  Lord's 
day. '  It  had  no  such  meaning.  It  was  a  barbarous  word 
in  use  among  some  of  the  ecclesiastical  writers  in,  and 
subsequent  to,  the  fourth  century,  to  express  sometimes 
a  church,  and  at  other  times  the  Lord's  supper,  but  never 
the  Lord's  day.^     My  authorities  on  this  point  are — 

'^  1.  Ruinart,  who,  upon  the  word  Dominicum,  in  the 
narrative  of  the  martyrdom  of  Saturninus,  has  a  note,  in 
which  he  says  it  is  a  word  signifying  the  Lord's  supper " 
{'  Dominicum  vera  desinat  sacra  mysteria '),  and  he  quotes 
Tertullian  and  Cyprian  in  support  of  this  interpreta- 
tion. 

"  2.  The  editors  of  the  Benedictine  edition  of  St.  Au- 
gustine's works.  They  state  that  the  word  Dominicum 
has  the  two  meanings  of  a  church  and  the  Lord's  supper. 
For  the  former  they  quote  among  other  authorities,  a 
canon  of  the  council  of  Neo  Cesarea.  For  the  latter 
meaning  they  quote  Cyj)rian,  and  refer  also  to  St.  Augus- 
tine's account  of  his  conference  with  the  Donatists,  in 
which  allusion  is  made  to  the  narrative  of  the  martyrdom 
of  Saturninus." 


iXote  by  Domville.  ^^  Dominicum  is  not,  as  may  at  first  be 
supposed,  an  adjective,  of  which  diim  [day]  is  the  understood 
substantive.  It  is  itself  a  substantive,  neuter  as  appears  from 
the  passage,  '  Quia  non potest  interynitti  Dominicum,^  in  the  nar- 
rative respecting  Saturninus.  The  Latin  adjective  Dominicus, 
when  intended  to  refer  to  the  Lord's  day,  is  never,  1  believe, 
used  without  its  substantive  dies  [day]  being  expressed.  In  all 
the  narratives  contained  in  Ruinart' s  Acta  iTartijrtim,  I  find  but 
two  instances  of  mention  being  made  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  in 
both  these  instances  the  substantive  dies  [day]  is  expressed." 

2  This  testimony  is  certainly  decisive.  It  is  the  intepretation 
of  the  compiler  of  the  Acta  Martyrum,  himself,  and  is  given  with 
direct  reference  to  the  particular  instance  under  discussion.  An 
independent  confirmation  of  Domville' s  authorities,  maybe  found 
in  Lucius's  Eccl.  Hist.,  cent.  4,  chap,  vi.:  "Fit  mentio  aliquoties 
locorum  istorum  in  quibus  convenerint  Christiani,  in  historia 
persecutionis  sub  Diocletiano  &  Maximino.  Et  apparet,  ante 
Constantinum  etiam,  locos  eos  fuisse  mediocriter  exstructos  atque 
exornatos  :  quos  seu  Templa  appellarunt  seu  Dominica;  ut  apud 
Eusebium  (li.  9.  c.  10)  &  Rufiinum  (li.  1,  c.  3)." 

It  is  certain  that  Dominicum  is  here  used  as  designating  a  place 
of  divine  worship.  Dr.  Tvvisse  in  his  "Morality  of  the  Fourth 
Commandment,"  p.  122,  says:  "The  ancient  fathers,  both  Greek 
and  Latin,  called  temples  by  the  name  of  dominica  and  KvoiaKci." 

3  Domville  cites  St.  Augustine's  Works,  voL  v.  pp.  IIG,  117, 
Antwerp  ed.  a.  d.  1700. 


248  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

''3.  Gesner,  who,  in  his  Latin  Thesaurus  published  in 
1749,  gives  1)oth  meanings  to  the  word  Dominicum.  For 
that  of  the  Lord's  supper  he  quotes  Cyprian  ;  for  that  of 
a  clmrch  he  quotes  Cyprian  and  also  Hillary."^ 

Domville  states  other  facts  of  interest  bearing 
on  this  point,  and  then  pays  his  respects  to  Mr. 
Gurney  as  follows : — 

''It  thus  appearing  that  the  reference  made  by  Bishop 
Andrews  to  the  '  Acts  of  Martyrs  '  completely  fails  to  es- 
tablish his  dictum  respecting  the  question  alleged  to  have 
been  put  to  the  martyrs,  and  it  also  appearing  that  there 
existed  strong  and  obvious  reasons  for  not  placing  im- 
plicit reliance  upon  that  dictum,  what  are  we  to  think  of 
Mr.  Gurney's  regard  for  truth,  when  we  find  he  does  not 
scruple  to  tell  his  readers  that  the  '  stated  day '  mentioned 
in  Pliny's  letter  as  that  on  which  the  Christians  held  their 
religious  assemblies,  was  '  clearly  the  first  day  of  the 
week,'  is  proved  by  the  very  question  which  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  the  Roman  persecutors  to  address  to  the  mar- 
tyrs, Dominicum  servasti  ? — '  Hast  thou  kept  the  Lord's 
day  ?'  For  this  unqualified  assertion,  prefixed  as  it  is  by 
the  word  '  clearly,'  in  order  to  make  it  the  more  impress- 
ive, Mr.  Gurney  is  without  any  excuse."^ 

The  justice  of  Domville's  language  cannot  be 
questioned  when  he  characterizes  this  favorite 
tirst-day  argument  as — 

' '  One  of  those  daring  misstatements  of  facts  so  frequent 
in  theological  writings,  and  which,  from  the  confident  tone 
so  generally  assumed  by  the  writers  on  such  occasions, 
are  usually  received  without  examination,  and  allowed, 
in  consequence,  to  pass  current  for  truth.  "^ 

The  investigation  to  which  this  statement  has 
been  subjected,  shows,  1.  That  no  such  question 
as,  Hast  thou  kept  the  Lord's  day  ?  is  upon  record 
as  proposed  to  the  martyrs  in  the  time  of  Plin}?". 


1  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts,  pp.  207,  2G8. 

2  Id.  i>p.  270,  271. 
^ad.  pp.  272,  27S. 


EXAMINATION  OF  A  FAMOUS  FALSEHOOD.   249 

2.  That  no  such  question  was  asked  to  any  mar- 
tyr prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  fourth 
century.  3.  That  a  single  instance  of  martyr- 
dom in  which  any  question  of  the  kind  was  asked, 
is  ail  that  can  be  claimed.  4.  That  in  this  one 
case,  which  is  all  that  has  even  the  slightest  ap- 
pearance of  sustaining  the  story  under  examina- 
tion, a  correct  translation  of  the  original  Latin 
shows  that  the  question  had  no  relation  whatever 
to  the  observance  of  Sunday  !  All  this  has  been 
upon  the  assumption  that  the  Acta  Martyrum,  in 
which  this  story  is  found,  is  an  authentic  work. 
Let  Mosheim  testify  relative  to  the  character  of 
this  work  for  veracity : — 

"As  to  tliose  accounts  wliich  have  come  down  to  lis 
under  the  title  of  Acta  Martyimm,  or,  the  Acts  of  the 
Martyrs,  their  authority  is  certainly  for  the  most  part 
of  a  very  questionable  nature  ;  indeed,  speaking  gener- 
ally, it  might  be  coming  nearer  to  the  truth,  perhaps, 
were  we  to  say  that  they  are  entitled  to  no  sort  of  credit 
w^hatever."  ^ 

Such  is  the  authority  of  the  work  from  which 
this  story  is  taken.  It  is  not  strange  that  first- 
day  historians  should  leave  the  repetition  of  it  to 
theologians. 

Such  are  the  facts  respecting  tliis  extraordinary 
falsehood.  They  constitute  so  complete  an  ex- 
posure of  this  famous  historical  argument  for 
Sunday  as  to  consign  it  to  the  just  contempt  of 
all  honest  men.  But  this  is  too  valuable  an  ar- 
gument to  be  lightly  surrendered,  and  moreover 
it  is  as  truthful  as  are  certain  other  of  the  his- 
torical arguments  for  Sunday.  It  will  not  do  to 
give  up  this  argument  because  of  its  dishonesty ; 

1  Historical  Commentaries,  cent.  ],  sect,  xxxii. 
Sabbath  History.  ±r 


250  HISTORY    OF    THE   SABBATH. 

for  others  will  have  to  go  with  it  for  possessing 
the  same  character. 

Since  the  publication  of  Domville's  elaborate 
work,  James  Gilfillan  of  Scotland  has  written  a 
large  volume  entitled,  "  The  Sabbath,"  which  has 
been  extensively  circulated  both  in  Europe  and 
in  America,  and  is  esteemed  a  standard  work  by 
the  American  Tract  Society  and  by  first-day  de- 
nominations in  general.  Gilfillan  had  read  Dom- 
ville  as  appears  from  his  statements  on  pages  10, 
142,  143,  GIG,  of  his  volume.  He  was  therefore 
acquainted  with  Domville's  exposure  of  the  fraud 
respecting  "  Dominicum  servasti  r  But  though 
he  was  acquainted  with  this  exposure,  he  offers 
not  one  word  in  reply.  On  the  contrary,  he  re- 
peats the  story  with  as  much  assurance  as  tliough 
it  had  not  been  proved  a  falsehood.  But  as 
Domville  had  shown  up  the  matter  from  the 
Acta  Marty  rum,  it  was  necessary  for  Gilfillan  to 
trace  it  to  some  other  authority,  and  so  he  assigns 
it  to  Cardinal  Baronius.  Here  are  Gilfillan's 
words : — 

"From  the  days  of  the  apostles  downvrards  for  many- 
years,  the  followers  of  Christ  had  no  enemies  more  fierce 
and  unrelenting  than  that  people  [the  Jews],  who  cursed 
them  in  the  synagogue,  sent  out  emissaries  into  all  coun- 
tries to  calumniate  their  Master  and  them,  and  vrere  abet- 
tors wherever  they  could,  of  the  martyrdom  of  men,  such 
as  Polycarp,  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy.  Among 
the  reasons  of  this  deadly  enmity  was  the  change  of  the 
Sabbatic  day.  The  Romans,  though  they  had  no  objec- 
tion on  this  score,  punished  the  Christians  for  the  faithful 
observance  of  their  day  of  rest,  one  of  the  testing  ques- 
tions put  to  the  martyrs  being,  Dominicum  servasti'/ — 
Have  you  kept  the  Lord's  day  ? — Baron.  An.  JEccles. ,  a.  d. 
303,  Num.  35,  etc."' 

^The  Sabbath,  by  James  Gilfillan,  p.  vii. 


EXAMINATION    OF    A    FAMOUS    FALSEHOOD.         251 

Gilfillan  having  reproduced  tliis  statement  and 
assigned  as  his  authority  the  annalist  Baronius, 
more  recent  first-day  writers  take  courage  and 
repeat  the  story  after  him.  Now  they  are  all 
right,  as  they  think.  What  if  the  Acta  Mar- 
tyrum  has  failed  them  ?  Domville  ought  to  have 
gone  to  Baronius,  who,  in  their  judgment,  is  the 
true  source  of  information  in  this  matter.  Had  he 
done  this,  they  say,  he  would  have  been  saved 
from  misleading  his  readers.  But  let  us  ascertain 
what  evil  Domville  has  done  in  this  case.  It  all 
consists  in  the  assertion  of  two  things  out  of  the 
Acta  Martyriim} 

1.  That  no  such  question  as  "  Doif)iinicuni  ser- 
vasti  ? "  was  addressed  to  any  martyr  till  the 
early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  some  two  hun- 
dred years  after  the  time  of  Pliny. 

2.  That  the  question  even  then  did  not  relate 
to  v/hat  is  called  the  Lord's  day,  but  to  the  Lord's 
supper. 

Now  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  Gilfillan  has 
virtually  admitted  the  truth  of  the  first  of  these 
statements,  for  the  earliest  instance  which  he 
could  find  in  Baronius  is  A.  D.  303,  as  his  refer- 

iTo  break  the  force  of  Domville's  statement  in  which  he  ex- 
poses the  story  originally  told  by  Bishop  Andrews  as  coming  from 
the  Acta  Martyriim,  it  is  said  that  Domville  used  Ruinart's  Acta- 
Martyrmn,  and  that  Ruinart  was  not  born  lill  thirty-one  years 
after  Bishop  Andrews'  death,  so  that  Domville  did  not  go  to  the 
same  book  that  was  used  by  the  bishop,  and  therefore  failed  to 
liud  what  he  found.  Those  who  raise  this  point  betray  their  ig- 
norance or  expose  their  dishonesty.  The  Acta  Marty  rum  is  a 
collection  of  the  memoirs  of  the  martyrs,  written  by  their  friends 
from  age  to  age.  Ruinart  did  not  write  a  new  work,  but  simply 
edited  "the  most  valued  collection"  of  these  memoirs  that  has 
ever  appeared.  See  McClintoek  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol. 
i.  pp.  56,  67.  Domville  used  Ruinart's  edition,  because,  as  he 
expresses  it,  it  is  "the  most  complete  collection  of  the  memoirs 
and  legends  still  extant,  relative  to  the  lives  and  sufferings  of 
the  Christian  martyrs."  Domville's  use  of  Ruinart  was,  therelfbre, 
in  the  highest  degree  just  and  right. 


252  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

ence  plainly  shows.  It  differs  only  one  year  from 
the  date  assigned  in  Ruinart's  AcUt  Martyrum, 
and  relates  to  the  very  case  which  Domville  has 
quoted  from  that  work !  Domville's  first  and 
most  important  statement  is  therefore  vindicated 
by  Gilfillan  himself,  though  he  has  not  the  frank- 
ness to  say  this  in  so  many  words. 

Domville's  second  point  is  that  Dominicinn, 
when  used  as  a  noun,  as  in  the  present  case,  sig- 
nifies either  a  church  or  the  Lord's  supper,  but 
never  signifies  Lord's  day.  He  establishes  the 
fact  by  incontestible  evidence.  Gilfillan  was  ac- 
quainted with  all  this.  He  could  not  answer 
Domville,  and  yet  he  was  not  willing  to  abandon 
the  falsehood  which  Domville  had  exposed.  So 
he  turns  from  the  Acta  Martyruin  in  which  the 
compiler  expressly  defines  the  word  to  mean 
precisely  what  Domville  asserts,  and  brings  for- 
ward the  great  Romish  annalist,  Cardinal  Baro- 
nius.  Now,  say  our  first-day  friends,  we  are  to 
have  the  truth  from  a  high  authority.  Gilfillan 
has  found  in  Baronius  an  express  statement  that 
the  martyrs  were  tested  by  the  question,  "  Have 
you  kept  the  Lord's  day  ? "  No  matter  then  as 
to  the  Acta  Marty  rum  from  which  Bishop  An- 
drews first  produced  this  story.  That,  indeed, 
has  foiled  us,  but  we  have  in  its  stead  the  weighty 
testimony  of  the  great  Baronius.  To  be  sure  he  fixes 
this  test  no  earlier  than  the  fourth  century,  which 
renders  it  of  no  avail  as  proof  that  Pliny's  stated 
day  was  Sunday ;  but  it  is  worth  much  to  have 
Baronius  bear  witness  that  certain  martyrs  in 
the  fourth  century  were  put  to  death  because 
they  observed  the  Sunday-Lord's  day. 

But  these  exultant  thoughts  are  vain.  I  must 
>state  a  grave  fact  in  plain  lang«.iage :  Gilfillan  has 


EXAMINATION  OF  A  FAMOUS  FALSEHOOD.    253 

deliberately  falsified  tlie  testimony  of  Baronius ! 
That  historian  records  at  length  the  martyrdom 
of  Saturninus  and  his  company  in  northern 
Africa  in  A.  D.  303.  It  is  the  very  story  which 
Domville  has  cited  from  the  Acta  Martyrum,  and 
Baronius  repeatedly  indicates  that  he  himself 
copied  it  from  that  work.  He  gives  the  various 
questions  propounded  by  the  proconsul,  and  the 
several  answers  which  were  returned  by  each  of 
the  martyrs.  I  copy  from  Baronius  the  most  im- 
portant of  these.  They  were  arrested  while  they 
were  celebrating  the  Lord's  sacrament  according 
to  custom.^  The  following  is  the  charge  on  which 
they  were  arrested :  They  had  celebrated  the 
Collectani  Bominicani  against  the  command  of 
the  emperors."  The  proconsul  asked  the  first 
whether  he  had  celebrated  the  Collectam,  and  he 
replied  that  he  was  a  Christian,  and  had  done 
this.^  Another  says,  "  I  have  not  only  been  in 
the  CoUecta,  but  I  have  celebrated  the  Domiiiicum 
with  the  brethren  because  I  am  a  Christian."* 
Another  says  we  have  celebrated  the  Domi7iicu7}i,_ 
because  the  Dorainicuin  cannot  be  neglected."^ 
Another  said  that  the  CoUecta  was  made  (or  ob- 
served) at  his  house.^  The  proconsul  questioning 
again  one  of  those  already  examined,  received 

ilbique  celebrantes  ex  more  Dominica  Sacramenta. — Baron- 
ius, Tome  3,  p.  348,  a.  d.  303,  No.  xxxvi.  Liicse,  a.  d.  1738. 

2  Qui  contra  edictum  Impei'atorum,  &  Cyesarum  Collectam 
Dominicam  celebrassent. — Baronius,  Tome  3,  p,  348,  a.  d.  303, 
No.  xxxix.  ♦ 

3  Utrum  Collectam  fecisset.  Qui  cum  se  Christianum,  &  in 
CoUecta  fuisse  profiteretur. — Id.  lb. 

4  Nam  &  in  CoUecta  fui,  &  Dominicum  cum  fratribus  celebravi, 
quia  Christiana  sum. — Id.  No.  xliii.  p.  344.  This  was  spoken  by 
a  female  martyr. 

s Dominicum  celebraAimus.     Proconsul  ait:  Qaure?  respondit : 
Quia  non  potest  interraitti  Dominicum. — Id.  No.  xlvi.  p.  3.50. 
« In  cujus  dome  CoUecta  facta  fuit. — Id.  No.  xlvii.  p.  850. 


254  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

this  answer :  "  The  Dominicuin  cannot  be  disre- 
garded, the  law  so  commands."^  When  one  was 
asked  whether  the  Collecta  was  made  (or  ob- 
served) at  his  house,  he  answered,  "  In  my  house 
we  have  celebrated  the  Dominicum."  He  added, 
"  Without  the  Domiuicum  we  cannot  be,"  or  live.^ 
To  another,  the  proconsul  said  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  know  whether  he  was  a  Christian,  but 
whether  he  participated  in  the  Collecta.  His 
reply  was  :  "  As  if  one  could  be  a  Christian  with- 
out 4he  Dominicuin,  or  as  if  the  Dominicuin  can 
be  celebrated  without  the  Christian."  ^  And  he 
said  further  to  the  proconsul:  "We  have  ob- 
served the  Collectct  most  sacredly ;  we  have  al- 
ways convened  in  the  Dominicuin  for  reading  the 
Lord's  word." ^  Another  said:  "I  have  been  in 
[literally,  have  made]  the  Collecta  with  my 
brethren,  I  have  celebrated  the  Dominicuin."^ 
After  him  another  proclaimed  the  Dominicuin  to 
be  the  hope  and  safety  of  the  Christian,  and  when 
tortured  as  the  others,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  have  cele- 
brated the  Dominicuin  with  a  devoted  heart,  and 
with  my  brethren  I  have  made  the  Collecta  because 
I  am  a  Christian."  *      When  the  proconsul  again 

^Intermitti  Dominicum  non  potest,  ait.  Lex  sic  jubet. — M. 
No.  xlvii.  p.  350. 

2  In  tua,  inquit  proconsul,  domo  CoUectse  factie  sunt,  contra 
praeccpta  Imperatorum  ?  Cui  Emeritus  saucto  Spiritu  inundatus : 
In  domo  mea,  inquit,  egimus  Dominicum.  .  .  .  Quoniam  sine 
Domjnico  esse  non  possumus. — Id.  No.  xlix.  pp.  350,  351. 

3  Non  quaero  an  Christianus  sis  sed  an  Collcctam  feceris.  .  .  . 
Quasi  Cliristianus  sine  Dominico  esse  possit. — Id.  No.  li.  p.  351. 

••  Collectam,  inquit,  religiosissime  celebravimus  ;  ad  scripturas 
Dominicas  legendas  in  Dominicum  convenimus  semper. — Id.  lb. 
p.  351. 

^  Cum  fratribus  feci  Collectam,  Dominicum  celcbravi, — Id.  No. 


Hi.  p.  351. 
"Post   qu( 


^  lem  junior  Felix,  spcm  salutemque  Christianorum 
Dominicum  esse  proclamans.  .  .  .  Ego,  inquit,  dcvota  mi-nta  cel- 
cbravi Dominicum  ;  collcctam  cum  fratribus  loci,  quia  Christianus 
sum.— /</.  liii. 


EXAMINATION    OF    A    FAMOUS    FALSEHOOD.       255 

asked  one  of  these  whether  he  had  conducted  the 
Bominicum,  he  replied  that  he  had  because  Christ 
was  his  Saviour.^ . 

I  have  thus  given  the  substance  of  this  famous 
examination,  and  have  set  before  the  reader  the 
references  therein  made  to  the  Domiinicum.  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  CoUecta  is  used  as  another 
name  for  Domiinicum.  Now  does  Baronius  use 
either  of  these  words  to  signify  Lord's  day  ?  It 
so  happens  that  he  has  defined  these  words  with 
direct  reference  to  this  very  case  no  less  than 
seven  times.  Now  let  us  read  these  seven  defini- 
tions : — 

When  Baronius  records  the  first  question  ad- 
dressed to  these  martycs,  he  there  defines  these 
words  as  follows :  "  By  the  words  CoUedavi,  CgI- 
lectionem,  and  Boininicuon,  the  author  always 
understands  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass."^  After 
recording  the  words  of  that  martyr  who  said  that 
the  law  commanded  the  observance  of  the  Do- 
minicum,  Baronius  defines  his  statement  thus : 
"  Evidently  the  Christian  law  concerning  the  Do- 
"minicum,  no  doubt  about  celebrating  the  sacri- 
fice."^ Baronius,  b}^  the  Romish  words  sacrifice 
and  Mass  refers  to  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
supper  by  these  martyrs.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  examination,  he  again  defines  the  celebration 
of  the  Dominicum.  He  says :  "  It  has  been 
shown  above  in  relating  these  things  that  the 
Christians  were  moved,  even  in  the  time  of  se- 

lUtrura  egeris  Dominicum.  Ciii  respondit  Satiirniaus  :  Egi 
Domiuicvim,  quia  Salvator  est  Christus. — Id.  Id.  p.  352. 

2  Per  Collectam  namque,  and  Collectionem,  and  Dominicum,  in- 
tellegit  semper  auctor  sacrificium  Misscc. — baronius,  Tovie  3, 
A.  p.  303,  No.  xxxix.  p.  348. 

3  Scilicet  lex  Christiana  de  Dominico,  nempe  sacrificio  cclebrau- 
do.— /c/.  No.  xlvii.  p.  350. 


256  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABBATH. 

vere  persecution,  to  celebrate  tlie  Dominicuni. 
Evidently,  as  we  have  declared  elsewhere  in  many 
places,  it  was  a  sacrifice  without  bloodshed,  and 
of  divine  appointment/'^  He  presently  defines 
Dominicum  again,  saying,  "  Though  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  same  expression  was  employed  at  times 
with  reference  to  the  temple  of  God,  yet  since  all 
the  churches  upon  the  earth  have  united  in  this 
matter,  and  from  other  things  related  above,  it 
has  been  sufficiently  shown  concerning  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Dominicmn,  that  only  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  can  he  understood''^  Observe  this 
last  statement.  He  says  though  the  word  has 
been  employed  to  designate  the  temple  of  the 
Lord,  yet  in  the  things  here  related  it  can  only 
signify  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  These  testimo- 
nies are  exceedingly  explicit.  But  Baronius  has 
not  yet  finished.  In  the  index  to  Tome  3,  he 
explains  these  words  again  with  direct  reference 
to  this  very  martyrdom.  Thus  under  Collecta  is 
this  statement :  "  The  Collecta,  the  Dominicuni, 
the  Mass,  the  same  [A.  D.]  303,  xxxix."^  Under 
Missa :  "  The  Mass  is  the  same  as  the  Collecta,  or 
Dominicuni  [a.  d.],  303,  xxxix."*  Under  Domin- 
icuni :  "  To  celebrate  the  Dominicum  is  the  same 


1  De  celebratione  Dominici;  Quod  autera  superius  in  recitatis 
actis  sit  demonstratum,  flagrantis  persecutionis  etiain  tempore 
solicitos  fuisse  Christianos  celebrare  Dominicura,  nempe  (ut  alias 
pluribus  declararimus)  ipsum  sacrosanctum  sacrificium  incrueu- 
tum. — Id.  No.  Ixxxiii.  p,  358. 

'^  Quod  etsi  sciamus  eamdem  vocem  pro  Dei  templo  interdum 
accipi  solitam  ;  tamen  quod  ccclesiai  omncs  solo  a^quatfc  fuissent; 
ex  aliis  superius  recitatis  de  celebratione  Dominici,  nonisi  sacri- 
ficium missje  posse  intellioro,  satis  est  declaratum. — /(/.  Ixxxiv. 
p.  359. 

3  Collecta,  Dominicum,  Missa,  idem,  303,  xxxix.  p.  677. 

4  Missa  idem  quod  Collecta,  sive  Dominicum,  803,  xxxix.  p.  702. 


EXAMINATION  OF  A  FAMOUS  FALSEHOOD.   257 

as  to  conduct  the  Mass  [a.  d.],  303,  xxxix. ;  xlix. ; 

It  i»  not  possible  to  mistake  the  meaning  of 
Baronius.  He  says  that  Doininicuin  signifies 
the  Mass !  The  celebration  of  the  supper  by 
these  martyrs  was  doubtless  very  different  from 
the  pompous  ceremony  which  the  church  of 
Rome  now  observes  under  the  name  of  Mass. 
But  it  was  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper, 
concerning  which  they  were  tested,  and  for  ob- 
serving which  they  were  put  to  a  cruel  death. 
The  word  Dominicum  signifies  "  the  sacred  mys- 
teries,'' as  Ruinart  defines  it ;  and  Baronius,  in 
seven  times  affirminor  this  definition,  thouo^h  ac- 
knowleclo^ino^  that  it  has  sometimes  been  used  to 
signify  temple  of  God,  plainly  declares  that  in 
this  record,  it  can  have  oio  other  ^meaning  than 
that  service  which  the  Romanists  call  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass.  GilfiUan  had  read  all  this,  yet 
he  dares  to  quote  Baronius  as  saying  that  these 
martyrs  were  tested  by  the  question,  "  Have  you 
kept  Lord's  day  ?"  He  could  not  but  know  that 
he  was  writing  a  direct  falsehood;  but  he  thought 
the  honor  of  God,  and  the  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  truth,  demanded  this  act  at  his  hands. 

Before  Gilfillan  wrote  his  work,  Domville  had 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  sentence, 
"  Bonhinicum  servasti  V  does  not  occur  in  the 
Acta  Martyrum,  a  different  verb  being  used  ev- 
ery time.  But  this  is  the  popular  form  of  this 
question,  and  must  not  be  given  up.  So  Gilfillan 
declares  that  Baronius  uses  it  in  his  record  of  the 
martyrdoms  in  A.  D.  303.      But  we  have  cited 


1  Dominicum  celebrare  idem  quod  Missas  agere,  303,  xxxix. 
xlix. ;  li.  p.  684. 


258  HISTORY   OF    TUE   SABBATH. 

the  different  forms  of  question  recorded  by  Baro- 
nius,  and  find  them  to  be  precisely  the  same  with 
those  of  the  Acta  Martyrum.  "  Dominicum  ser- 
vasti  r  does  not  occur  in  that  historian,  ana  Gil- 
fillan,  in  stating  that  it  does,  is  guilty  of  untruth. 
This,  however,  is  comparatively  unimportant.  But 
for  asserting  that  Baronius  speaks  of  Lord's  day 
under  the  name  of  Dominicmn,  GilfiUan  stands 
convicted  of  inexcusable  falsehood  in  matters  of 
serious  importance. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


ORIGIN  OF  FIRST-DAY  OBSERVANCE. 

Sunday  a  heathen  festival  from  remote  antiquity — Origin  of 
the  name — Reasons  which  induced  the  leaders  of  the 
church  to  adopt  this  festival — It  was  the  day  generally 
observed  by  the  Gentiles  in  the  first  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era — To  have  taken  a  different  day  would  have 
been  exceedingly  inconvenient — They  hoped  to  facilitate 
the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  by  keeping  the  same  day 
that  they  observed — Three  voluntary  weekly  festivals  in 
the  church  in  memory  of  the  Redeemer — Sunday  soon  ele- 
vated above  the  other  two — Justin  Martyr — Sunday  ob- 
servance iirst  found  in  the  church  of  Rome — Irennous — 
First  act  of  papal  usurpation  was  in  behalf  of  Sunday — 
TertuUian — Earliest  trace  of  abstinence  from  labor  on 
Sunday — General  statement  of  facts — Tlie  Roman  church 
made  its  first  great  attack  upon  the  Sabbath  by  turning  it 
into  a  fast. 

The  festival  of  Sunday  is  more  ancient  than 
the  Christian  religion,  its  origin  being  lost  in  re- 
mote antiquity.  It  did  not  originate,  however, 
from  any  divine  command  nor  from  piety  toward 
God  :  on  the  contrary,  it  was  set  apart  as  a  sa- 
cred day  by  the  heathen  world  in  honor  of  their 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST   DAY    OBSERVANCE.  259 

chief  god,  the  sun.  It  is  from  this  fact  that  the 
first  day  of  the  week  has  obtained  the  name  of 
Sunday,  a  name  by  which  it  is  known  in  many 
lanoruasres.     Webster  thus  defines  the  word : — 

"Sunday;  so  called  because  this  day  was  anciently 
dedicated  to  the  sun  or  to  its  worship.  The  first  day  of 
the  week ;  the  Christian  Sabbath ;  a  day  consecrated  to 
rest  from  secular  employments,  and  to  religious  worship ; 
the  Lord's  day." 

And  Worcester,  in  his  large  dictionary,  uses 
similar  lanomacre : — 

"  Sunday ;  so  named  because  anciently  dedicated  to  the 
sun  or  to  its  worship.  The  first  day  of  the  week ;  the 
Christian  Sabbath,  consecrated  to  rest  from  labor  and  to 
religious  worship;  the  Lord's  day." 

These  lexicographers  call  Sunday  the  Christian 
Sabbath,  etc.,  because  in  the  general  theological 
literature  of  our  language,  it  is  thus  designated, 
though  never  thus  in  the  Bible.  Lexicographers 
do  not  undertake  to  settle  theological  questions, 
but  simply  to  define  terms  as  currently  used  in  a 
particular  language.  Though  all  the  other  days 
of  the  week  have  heathen  names,  Sunday  alone 
v/as  a  conspicuous  heathen  festival  in  the  days  of 
the  early  church.  The  North  British  Review,  in 
a  labored  attempt  to  justify  the  observance  of 
Sunday  by  the  Christian  world,  styles  that  day, 
"  The  v/ild  solae  holiday  [i.  <?.,  festival  in  hon- 
or of  the  sun]  OF  ALL  pagan  times."^ 

Yerstegan  says : — 

"  The  most  ancient  Germans  being  pagans,  and  having 
apiDropriated  their  first  day  of  the  week  to  the  peculiar 
adoration  of  the  sun,  whereof  that  day  doth  yet  in  our 
English  tongue  retain  the  name  of  Sunday,  and  aj^propri- 
ated  the  next  day  unto  it  unto  the  especial  adoration  of 

1  Vol.  xviii.  p.  40?. 


260  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  moon,  whereof  it  yet  retaineth  with  us,  the  name  of 
Monday ;  they  ordained  the  next  day  to  these  most  heav- 
enly planets  to  the  particular  adoration  of  their  great  re- 
puted god,  Tuisco,  whereof  we  do  yet  retain  in  our  lan- 
guage the  name  of  Tuesday."^ 

The  same  author  thus  speaks  concerning  the 
idols  of  our  Saxon  ancestors : — 

"Of  these,  though  they  had  many,  yet  seven  among 
the  rest  they  especially  approjDriated  unto  the  seven  days 

of  the  week Unto  the  day  dedicated  unto 

the  especial  adoration  of  the  idol  of  the  smi,  they  gave 
the  name  of  Sunday,  as  much  as  to  say  the  sun's  day  or 
the  day  of  the  sun.  This  idol  was  placed  in  a  temple, 
and  there  adored  and  sacrificed  unto,  for  that  they  be- 
lieved that  the  sun  in  the  firmament  did  with  or  in  this 
idol  correspond  and  co-oj)erate. "  ^ 

Jennings  makes  this  adoration  of  the  sun  more 
ancient  than  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  Egypt. 
For,  in  speaking  of  the  time  of  that  deliverance, 
he  speaks  of  the  Gentiles  as, 

''  Tlie  idolatrous  nations  who  in  honor  to  their  chief 
god,  the  sun,  began  their  day  at  his  rising."^ 

He  represents  them  also  as  setting  apart  Sun- 
day in  honor  of  the  same  object  of  adoration : — 

' '  The  day  which  the  heathens  in  general  consecrated 
to  the  worship  and  honor  of  their  chief  god,  the  sun, 
which,  according  to  our  computation,  was  the  first  day  of 
the  week."* 

The  NoHh  British  Revieiv  thus  defends  the  in- 
troduction of  this  ancient  heathen  festival  into 
the  Christian  church  : — 

'  Verstegan's  Antiquities,  p.  10,  London,  162S. 

2  Antiquities,  p.  G8. 

3  Jewish  Antiquities,  book  iii.  chap.  i.  See  also  McCIintock  and 
Strong's  Cyclopedia,  4,472,  article  Idolatrv;  Dr.  A.  Clarke  on 
Job  31  :26;  and  Dr.  Gill  on  the  same  ;  Webster  under  the  word 
Sabianism,  and  Worcester,  under  Sabian. 

*  Id.  book  iii.  chap.  iii. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  261 

' '  That  very  day  was  the  Sunday  of  their  heathen  neigh- 
bors and  respective  countrymen  ;  and  patriotism  gladly 
united  with  expediency  in  making  it  at  once  their  Lord's 

day  and  their   Sabbath If  the  authority  of  the 

church  is  to  be  ignored  altogether  by  Protestants,  there 
is  no  matter  ;  because  opportunity  and  common  expedi- 
ency are  surely  argument  enough  for  so  ceremonial  a 
change  as  the  mere  day  of  the  week  for  the  observance 
of  the  rest  and  holy  convocation  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath. 
That  primitive  church,  in  fact,  was  shut  up  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Sunday,  until  it  became  established  and  su- 
preme, when  it  was  too  late  to  make  another  alteration  ; 
and  it  was  no  irreverent  nor  undelightful  thing  to  adopt 
it,  inasmuch  as  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  their  own 
high  day  at  any  rate  ;  so  that  their  compliance  and  civil- 
ity were  rewarded  by  the  redoubled  sanctity  of  their  quiet 
festival."^ 

It  would  seem  that  sometliing  more  potent  than 
"  patriotism  "  and  "  expediency  "  would  be  requi- 
site to  transform  this  heathen  festival  into  the 
Christian  Sabbath,  or  even  to  justify  its  introduc- 
tion into  the  Christian  church.  A  further  state- 
ment of  the  reasons  which  prompted  its  introduc- 
tion, and  a  brief  notice  of  the  earlier  steps  toward 
transforming  it  into  a  Christian  institution,  will  oc- 
cupy the  remainder  of  this  chapter.  Chafie,  a  cler- 
gyman of  the  English  Church,  in  1652,  published  a 
work  in  vindication  of  first-day  observance,  en- 
titled, "  The  Seventh-day  Sabbath."  After  show- 
ing the  general  observance  of  Sunday  by  the  hea- 
then world  in  the  early  ages  of  the  church,  Chafie 
thus  states  the  reasons  which  forbid  the  Chris- 
tians attempting  to  keep  any  other  day : — 

'^  1.  Because  of  the  contempt,  scorn,  and  derision  they 
thereby  should  be  had  in,  among  all  the  Gentiles  with 
whom  they  lived,  .  .  .  How  grievous  would  be  their 
taunts  and  reproaches  against  the  poor  Christians  living 
T>^ith  them  and  under  their  power  for  their  new  set  sacred 

1  Vol.  xviii.  p.  409. 


262  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

day,  had  the  Christians  chosen  any  other  than  the  Sun- 
day. ...  2.  Most  Christians  then  were  either  serv- 
ants or  of  the  poorer  sort  of  people  ;  and  the  Gentiles, 
most  probably,  would  not  give  their  servants  liberty  to 
cease  from  working  on  any  other  set  day  constantly,  ex- 
cept on  their  Sunday.  ...  3.  Because  had  they  as- 
sayed such  a  change  it  Avould  have  been  but  labor  in 
vain;  .    .    .    they  could  never  have  brought  it  to  pass. "  ^ 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  at  the  time  when  the  early 
church  began  to  apostatize  from  God  and  to  fos- 
ter in  its  bosom  human  ordinances,  the  heathen 
world — as  they  had  long  done — very  generally 
observed  the  first  day  of  the  week  in  honor  of 
the  sun.  Many  of  the  early  fathers  of  the  church 
had  been  heathen  philosophers.  Unfortunately 
they  brought  with  them  into  the  church  many 
(3f  their  old  notions  and  principles.  Particu- 
larly did  it  occur  to  them  that  by  uniting  with 
the  heathen  in  the  day  of  weekly  celebration 
they  should  greatly  facilitate  their  conversion. 
The  reasons  which  induced  the  church  to  adopt 
the  ancient  festival  of  the  heathen  as  something 
made  ready  to  hand,  are  thus  stated  by  Morer : — 

^'  It  is  not  to  be  denied  but  we  borrow  the  name  of  this 
day  from  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  we  allow 
that  the  old  Egyptians  worshiped  the  sun,  and  as  a  stand- 
ing memorial  of  their  veneration,  dedicated  this  day  to 
him.  And  we  find  by  the  influence  of  their  examples, 
other  nations,  and  among  them  the  Jews  themselves,  do- 
ing him  homage  ;  ■  yet  these  abuses  did  not  hinder  the 
fathers  of  the  Cliristian  church  simply  to  repeal,  or  alto- 
gether lay  by,  the  day  or  its  name,  but  only  to  sanctify 
and  improve  both,  as  they  did  also  the  pagan  temples 
polluted  before  with  idolatrous  services,  and  other  in- 
stances wherein  those  good  men  Avere  always  tender  to 
work  any  other  change  than  what  was  evidently  neces- 
sary, and  in  such  things  as  were  plainly  inconsistent  with 


iPp.  Gl,  62. 

2  2  Kiiiirs  23  :5;  .Tor. 


43  :  13,  marorin. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  263 

the  Christian  religion  ;  so  that  Sunday  being  the  day  on 
which  the  Gentiles  solemnly  adored  that  lolanet,  and 
called  it  Sunday,  partly  from  its  influence  on  that  day 
especially,  and  partly  in  respect  to  its  divine  body  (as 
they  conceived  it),  the  Christians  thought  fit  to  keep  the 
same  day  and  the  same  name  of  it,  that  they  might  not 
appear  causelessly  peevish,  and  by  that  means  hinder  the 
conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  and  bring  a  greater  prejudice 
than  might  be  otherwise  taken  against  the  gospel."^ 

In  the  time  of  Justin  Martyr,  Sunday  was  a 
weekly  festival,  widely  celebrated  by  the  heathen 
in  honor  of  their  god,  the  sun.  And  so,  in  pre- 
senting to  the  heathen  emperor  of  Rome  an 
"  Apology  "  for  his  brethren,  Justin  takes  care  to 
tell  him  thrice  that  the  Christians  held  their  as- 
semblies on  this  day  of  general  observance.^ 
Sunday  therefore  makes  its  first  appearance  in 
the  Christian  church  as  an  institution  identical 
in  time  with  the  weekly  festival  of  the  heathen, 
and  Justin,  who  first  mentions  this  festival,  had 
been  a  heathen  philosopher.  Sixty  years  later, 
TertuUian  acknowledges  that  it  was  not  without 
an  appearance  of  truth  that  men  declared  the 
sun  to  be  the  god  of  the  Christians.  But  he  an- 
swered that  though  they  worshiped  toward  the 
east  like  the  heathen,  and  devoted  Sunday  to  re- 
joicing, it  was  for  a  reason  far  different  from  sun- 
worship.^  And  on  another  occasion,  in  defending 
his  brethren  from  the  charge  of  sun-worship,  he 
acknowledges  that  these  acts,  prayer  toward  the 
east,  and  making  Sunday  a  day  of  festivity,  did 
give  men  a  chance  to  think  the  sun  was  the  God 
of  the  Christians.*     TertuUian  is  therefore  a  wit- 


1  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  day,  pp.  22,  23. 

2  Apology,  chap.  Ixvii.;  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  pp.  34,  35. 

3  Apology,  sect.  16  ;  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  pp.  64,  65. 

"i  Ad  Nationes,  book  i.  chap,  xiii.;  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  p.  7^. 


2G4  HISTORY   OF   THE    SABBATH. 

ness  to  the  fact  that  Sunday  was  a  heathen  festi- 
val when  it  obtained  a  foothold  in  the  Christian 
church,  and  that  the  Christians,  in  consequence  of 
observing  it,  were  taunted  with  being  sun- wor- 
shipers. It  is  remarkable  that  in  his  replies 
he  never  claims  for  their  observance  any  di- 
vine precept  or  apostolic  example.  His  princi- 
pal point  was  that  they  had  as  good  a  right  to  do 
it  as  the  heathen  had.  One  hundred  and  twenty 
one  years  after  Tertullian,  Constantine,  while  yet 
a  heathen,  put  forth  his  famous  edict  in  behalf  of 
the  heathen  festival  of  the  sun,  which  day  he 
pronounced  "  venerable."  And  this  heathen  law 
caused  the  day  to  be  observed  everywhere 
throughout  the  Koman  Empire,  and  firmly  estab- 
lished it  both  in  Church  and  State.  It  is  certain, 
therefore,  that  at  the  time  of  its  entrance  into 
the  Christian  church,  Sunday  was  an  ancient 
weekly  festival  of  the  heathen  world. 

That  this  heathen  festival  was  upon  the  day  of 
Christ's  resurrection  doubtless  powerfully  contrib- 
uted to  aid  "  patriotism  "  and  "  expediency  "  in 
transforming  it  into  the  Lord's  day  or  Christian 
Sabbath.  For,  with  pious  motives,  as  we  may 
reasonably  conclude,  the  professed  peo})le  of  God 
early  paid  a  voluntary  regard  to  several  days, 
memorable  in  the  history  of  the  Redeemer.  Mo- 
sheim,  whose  testimony  in  behalf  of  Sunday  has 
been  presented  already,  uses  the  following  lan- 
guage relative  to  the  crucifixion  day : — 

"It  is  also  probable  that  Fridaj'-,  the  day  of  Christ's 
crucifixion,  was  early  distinguished  by  particular  honors 
from  the  other  days  of  the  week."^ 

And  of  the  second  century,  he  says : — 

lEccl.  Hist.,  cent.  1,  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  note  X  to  sect.  i. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  265 

' '  Many  also  observed  the  fourth  day  of  the  week,  on 
which  Christ  was  betrayed ;  and  the  sixth,  which  was  the 
day  of  his  crucifixion."^ 

Dr.  Peter  Heylyn  says  of  those  who  chose 
Sunday : — 

''Because  our  Saviour  rose  that  day  from  amongst  the 
dead,  so  chose  they  Friday  for  another,  by  reason  of  our 
Sa^dour's  passion ;  and  Wednesday  on  the  which  he  had 
been  betrayed :  the  Saturday,  or  ancient  Sabbath,  being 
meanwhile  retained  in  the  eastern  churches."' 

Of  the  comparative  sacredness  of  these  three 
voluntary  festivals,  the  same  writer  testifies : — 

"  If  we  consider  either  the  preaching  of  the  word,  the 
ministration  of  the  sacraments,  or  the  public  prayers  :  the 
Sunday  in  the  eastern  cluirches  had  no  great  prerogative 
above  other  days,  especially  above  the  Wednesday  and 
the  Friday,  save  that  the  meetings  were  more  solemn, 
and  the  concourse  of  people  greater  than  at  other  times, 
as  is  most  likely."^ 

And  besides  these  three  weekly  festivals,  there 
were  also  two  annual  festivals  of  great  sacred- 
ness. These  were  the  Passover  and  the  Pente- 
cost. And  it  is  worthy  of  special  notice  that  al- 
though the  Sunday  festival  can  be  traced  no 
higher  in  the  church  than  Justin  Martyr,  A.  D. 
140,  the  Passover  can  be  traced  to  a  man  who 
claimed  to  have  received  it  from  the  apostles. 
See  chapter  thirteen.  Among  these  festivals, 
considered  simply  as  voluntary  memorials  of  the 
Redeemer,  Sunday  had  very  little  pre-eminence. 
For  it  is  well  stated  by  Heylyn  : — 

''Take  which  you  will,  either  the  fathers  or  the  mod- 
ems, and  we  shall  find  no  Lord's  day  instituted  by  any 

1  Eccl.  Hist.  cent.  2,  part.  ii.  chap.  1.  sect.  12. 

^History  of  the  Sabbath,  part  ii.  chap.  i.  sect.  12. 
3  Id.  part  ii.  chap.  iii.  sect.  i. 

Sabbath  nistory.  X8 


26 G  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

apostolical  mandate  ;  no  Sabbath  set  on  foot  by  them  up- 
on the  first  day  of  the  week. "  ^ 

Domville  bears  the  following  testimony,  which 
is  worthy  of  lasting  remembrance : — 

"  Not  any  ecclesiastical  writer  of  the  first  three  centu- 
ries attributed  the  origin  of  Sunday  observance  either  to 
Christ  or  to  his  apostles. " " 

"Patriotism  "  and  "expediency,"  however,  ere- 
long elevated  immeasurably  above  its  fellows  that 
one  of  these  voluntary  festivals  which  correspond- 
ed to  "  the  wild  solar  holiday  "  of  the  heathen 
world,  making  that  day  at  last  "  the  Lord's  day  " 
of  the  Christian  church.  The  earliest  testimony 
in  behalf  of  first-day  observance  that  has  any 
claim  to  be  regarded  as  genuine  is  that  of  Justin 
Martyr,  written  about  A.  D.  140.  Before  his  con- 
version, he  was  a  heathen  philosopher.  The  time, 
place,  and  occasion  of  his  first  Apology  or  Defense 
of  the  Christians,  addressed  to  the  Roman  Em- 
peror, is  thus  stated  by  an  eminent  Roman  Cath- 
olic historian.     He  says  that  Justin  Martyr 

'^  Was  at  Rome  when  the  persecution  that  was  raised 
under  the  reign  of  Antoninus  Pius,  the  successor  of  Adrian, 
began  to  break  forth,  where  he  composed  an  excellent 
apology  in  behalf  of  the  Christians. "  ^ 

Of  the  works  ascribed  to  Justin  Martyr,  Mil- 

ner  says : — 

"  Like  many  of  the  ancient  fathers  he  appears  to  us  un- 
der the  greatest  disadvantage.  Works  really  his  have 
been  lost ;  and  others  have  been  ascribed  to  him,  part  of 
which  are  not  his ;  and  the  rest,  at  least,  of  ambiguous 
authority."* 

1  Hist,  of  the  Sabbath,  part  ii.  chap.  i.  sect.  10. 

3  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts,  Supplement,  pp.  6,  7. 

sDu  Pin's  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  50. 

*Hist.  Church,  cent.  2,  chap.  iii. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY   OBSERVANCE.  267 

If  the  wi'itings  ascribed  to  him  are  genuine, 
there  is  little  propriety  in  the  use  made  of  his 
name  by  the  advocates  of  the  first-day  Sabbath. 
He  taught  the  abrogation  of  the  Sabbatic  institu- 
tion ;  and  there  is  no  intimation  in  his  words  that 
the  Sunday  festival  which  he  mentions  was  oth- 
er than  a  voluntary  observance.  Thus  he  ad- 
dresses the  emperor  of  Rome  : — 

"And  upon  the  day  called  Sunday,  all  that  live  either 
in  city  or  country  meet  together  at  the  same  place,  where 
the  writings  of  the  apostles  and  prophets  are  read,  as 
much  as  time  will  give  leave ;  when  the  reader  has  done, 
the  bishop  makes  a  sermon,  wherein  he  instructs  the  peo- 
ple, and  animates  them  to  the  practice  of  such  lovely  pre- 
cepts :  at  the  conclusion  of  this  discourse,  we  all  rise  up 
together  and  pray ;  and  prayers  being  over,  as  I  now  said, 
there  is  bread  and  wine  and  water  offered,  and  the  bish- 
op, as  before,  sends  up  prayers  and  thanksgivings,  with 
all  the  fervency  he  is  able,  and  the  people  conclude  all 
with  the  joyful  acclamation  of  Amen.  Then  the  conse- 
crated elements  are  distributed  to,  and  partaken  of,  by 
all  that  are  j)resent,  and  sent  to  the  absent  by  the  hands 
of  the  deacons.  But  the  wealthy  and  the  willing,  for  ev- 
ery one  is  at  liberty,  contribute  as  they  think  fitting; 
and  this  collection  is  deposited  with  the  bishop,  and  out 
of  this  he  relieves  the  orphan  and  the  widow,  and  such  as 
are  reduced  to  want  by  sickness  or  any  other  cause,  and 
such  as  are  in  bonds,  and  strangers  that  come  from  far ; 
and,  in  a  word,  he  is  the  guardian  and  almoner  to  all  the 
indigent.  Upon  Sunday  we  all  assemble,  that  being  the 
first  day  in  which  God  set  himself  to  work  upon  the  dark 
void,  in  order  to  make  the  world,  and  in  which  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour  rose  again  from  the  dead ;  for  the  day 
before  Saturday  he  was  crucified,  and  the  day  after, 
which  is  Sunday,  he  appeared  unto  his  apostles  and  dis- 
ciples, and  taught  them  what  I  have  now  proposed  to 
your  consideration. "  ^ 

This  passage,  if  genuine,  furnishes  the  earliest 

1  Justin  Martyr's  First  Apology,   translated  by  Wm.  Reeves, 

p.  127,  sects.  87,  88,  89. 


268  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

reference  to  the  observance  of  Sunday  as  a  relig- 
ious festival  in  the  Christian  church.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  this  language  was  written  at 
Kome,  and  addressed  directly  to  the  emperor.  It 
shows  therefore  what  was  the  practice  of  the 
church  in  that  city  and  vicinity,  but  does  not  de- 
termine how  extensive  this  observance  was.  It 
contains  strong  incidental  proof  that  apostasy 
had  made  progress  at  Rome ;  the  institution  of 
the  Lord's  supper  being  changed  in  part  already 
to  a  human  ordinance ;  water  being  now  as  es- 
sential to  the  Lord's  supper  as  the  wine  or  the 
bread.  And  what  is  still  more  dangerous  as  per- 
verting the  institution  of  Christ,  the  consecrated 
elements  were  sent  to  the  absent,  a  step  which 
speedily  resulted  in  their  becoming  objects  of  su-. 
perstitious  veneration,  a^nd  finally  of  worship. 
Justin  tells  the  emperor  that  Christ  thus  or- 
dained ;  but  such  a  statement  is  a  grave  depart- 
ure from  the  truth  of  the  New  Testament. 

This  statement  of  reasons  for  Sunday  observ- 
ance is  particularly  worthy  of  attention.  He  tells 
the  emperor  that  they  assembled  upon  the  day 
called  Sunday.  This  was  equivalent  to  saying 
to  him.  We  observe  the  day  on  which  our  fellow- 
citizens  offer  their  adoration  to  the  sun.  Here 
both  "  patriotism  "  and  "  expediency  "  discover 
themselves  in  the  words  of  Justin,  which  were 
addressed  to  a  persecuting  emperor  in  behalf  of 
the  Christians.  But  as  if  conscious  that  the  ob- 
servance of  a  heathen  festival  as  the  day  of  Chris- 
tian worship  was  not  consistent  with  their  pro- 
fession as  worshipers  of  the  Most  High,  Justin 
bethinks  himself  for  reasons  in  defense  of  this  ob- 
servance. He  assigns  no  divine  precept  nor  apos- 
tolic example  for  this  festival.     For  his  reference 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  .269 

to  what  Christ  taught  his  disciples,  as  appears 
from  the  connection,  was  to  the  general  system 
of  the  Christian  religion,  and  not  to  the  observ- 
ance of  Sunday.  If  it  be  said  that  Justin  might 
have  learned  from  tradition  what  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  New  Testament  relative  to  Sunday 
observance,  and  that  after  all  Sunday  may  be  a 
divinely-appointed  festival,  it  is  sufficient  to  an- 
swer, 1.  That  this  plea  would  show  only  tradi- 
tion in  favor  of  the  Sunday  festival.  2.  That 
Justin  Martyr  is  a  very  unsafe  guide  ;  his  testi- 
mony relative  to  the  Lord's  supper  differs  from 
that  of  the  New  Testament.  3.  That  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society,  in  a  work  which  it  publishes 
acrainst  Romanism,  bears  the  folio winor  testimo- 
ny  relative  to  the  point  before  us : — 

^^  Justin  Martyr  appears  indeed  peculiarly  unfitted  to 
lay  claim  to  authority.  It  is  notorious  that  he  supposed 
a  pillar  erected  on  the  island  of  the  Tiber  to  Semo  San- 
chus,  an  old  Sabine  deity,  to  be  a  monument  erected  by 
the  Roman  people  in  honor  of  the  impostor  Simon  Magus. 
Were  so  gross  a  mistake  to  be  made  by  a  modem  writer 
in  relating  a  historical  fact,  exposiure  would  immediately 
take  place,  and  his  testimony  would  thenceforward  be 
suspected.  And  assuredly  the  same  measure  should  be 
meted  to  Justin  Martyr,  who  so  egregiously  errs  in  refer- 
ence to  a  fact  alluded  to  by  Livy  the  historian."  ^ 

Justin  assigns  the  following  reasons  in  support 
of  Sunday  observance  :  "  That  being  the  first  day 
in  which  God  set  himself  to  work  upon  the  dark 
void  in  order  to  make  the  world,  and  in  which 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  rose  again  from  the 
dead."  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor  most  fittingly  re- 
plies to  this : — 

"  The  first  of  these  looks  more  like  an  excuse  than  a 
just  reason ;  for  if  anything  of  the  creation  were  made  the 

1  The  Spirit  of  Popery,  pp.  44,  45. 


270  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

cause  of  a  Sabbatli,  it  ought  to  be  the  end,  not  the  be- 
ginning ;  it  ought  to  be  the  rest,  not  the  first  part  of  the 
work ;  it  ought  to  be  that  wliich  God  assigned,  not  [that] 
which  man  should  take  by  way  of  after  justification."^ 

It  is  to  be  observ^ecl,  therefore,  that  the  first 
trace  of  Sunday  as  a  Christian  festival  is  found 
in  the  church  of  Rome.  Soon  after  this  time,  and 
thenceforward,  we  shall  find  "  the  bishop  "  of  that 
church  making  vigorous  efforts  to  suppress  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  and  to  elevate  in  its  stead 
the  festival  of  Sunday. 

It  is  proper  to  note  the  fact  also  that  Justin 
was  a  decided  opponent  of  the  ancient  Sabbath. 
In  his  "  Dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew  "  he  thus 
addressed  him : — 

"  This  new  law  teaches  you  to  observe  a  perpetual  Sab- 
bath ;  and  you,  when  you  have  spent  one  day  in  idleness, 
think  you  have  discharged  the  duties  of  religion.  ...  If 
any  one  is  guilty  of  adultery,  let  him  repent,  then  he  hath 
kept  the  true  and  delightful  Sabbath  unto  God.  .  .  .  For 
Yv^e  really  should  observe  that  circumcision  which  is  in  the 
flesh,  and  the  Sabbath,  and  all  the  feasts,  if  we  had  not 
known  the  reason  why  they  were  imposed  upon  you, 
namely,  upon  the  account  of  your  iniquities.  ...  It  was 
because  of  your  iniquities,  and  the  iniquities  of  your  fa- 
thers, that  God  appointed  you  to  observe  the  Sabbath. 
....  You  see  that  the  heavens  are  not  idle,  nor  do  they 
observe  the  Sabbath.  Continue  as  ye  were  born.  For 
if  before  Abraham  there  was  no  need  of  circumcision,  nor 
of  the  sabbaths,  nor  of  feasts,  nor  of  ofterings  before  Mo- 
ses ;  so  now  in  like  manner  there  is  no  need  of  them,  since 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  was  by  the  determinate 
counsel  of  God,  born  of  a  virgin  of  the  seed  of  Abraham 
without  sin."- 

This  reasoning  of  Justin  deserves  no  reply.  It 
shows,  however,  the  unfairness  of  Dr.  Edwards, 


1  Ductor  Dubitantiuni,  part  i.  book  ii.  chap.  ii.  rule  G,  sect.  45. 
8  Brown's  Translation,  pp.  43,  44,  52,  59,  G3,  G4. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  271 

who  quotes  Justin  Martyr  as  a  witness  for  the 
change  of  the  Sabbath ;  ^  whereas  Justin  held 
that  God  made  the  Sabbath  on  account  of  the 
wickedness  of  the  Jews,  and  that  he  totally  ab- 
rogated it  in  consequence  of  the  first  advent  of 
Christ ;  the  Sunday  festival  of  the  heathen  being 
evidently  adopted  by  the  church  at  Rome  from 
motives  of  "  expediency  "  and  perhaps  of  "  pat- 
riotism." The  testimony  of  Justin,  if  genuine,  is 
peculiarly  valuable  in  one  respect.  It  shows  that 
as  late  as  A.  D.  140  the  first  day  of  the  week  had 
acquired  no  title  of  sacredness ;  for  Justin  several 
times  mentions  the  day  :  thrice  as  "  the  day  called 
Sunday  ;"  and  twice  as  "  the  eighth  day ;"  and  by 
other  terms  also,  but  never  by  any  sacred  name.  ^ 

The  next  important  witness  in  behalf  of  first- 
day  sacredness  is  thus  presented  by  Dr.  Ed- 
wards : — 

^ '  Hence  Irenseus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  a  disciple  of  Poly- 
carp,  who  had  been  the  companion  of  the  apostles,  a.  d. 
167,  says  that  the  Lord's  day  was  the  Christian  Sabbath. 
His  words  are,  '  On  the  Lord's  day  every  one  of  ns  Chris- 
tians keeps  the  Sabbath,  meditating  on  the  law  and  re- 
joicing in  the  works  of  God.'  "  ^ 

This  testimony  is  highly  valued  by  first-day 
writers,  and  is  often  and  prominently  set  forth  in 
their  publications.  Sir  Wm.  Domville,  whose 
elaborate  treatise  on  the  Sabbath  has  been  several 
times  quoted,  states  the  following  important  fact 
relative  to  this  quotation : — 

''I  have  carefully  searched  through  all  the  extant 
works  of  Irenaeus  and  can  with  certainty  state  that  no 
such  passage,  or  any  one  at  all  resembling  it,  is  there  to 
be  found.  The  edition  I  consulted  was  that  by  Massuet 
(Paris,  1710) ;  but  to  assure  myself  still  further,   I  have 

1  Sabbath  Manual,  p.  121.  2  Dialogue  with  Trjpho,  p.  65. 

3  Sabbath  Manual,  p.  114. 


272  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

since  looked  to  the  editions  by  Erasmus  (Paris,  1563),  and 
Grabe  (Oxford,  1702),  and  in  neither  do  I  find  the  pas- 
sage in  question. "  ^ 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  those  who  quote 
this  as  the  language  of  Iren^us,  if  they  give  any 
reference,  cite  their  readers  to  Dwight's  Theology 
instead  of  referring  them  to  the  place  in  the 
works  of  Irenseus  where  it  is  to  be  found.  It  was 
Dr.  Dwight  who  first  enriched  the  theological 
world  with  this  invaluable  quotation.  Where, 
then,  did  Dwight  obtain  this  testimony  which  has 
so  many  times  been  given  as  that  of  Irenseus  ? 
On  this  point  Domville  remarks  : — 

* '  He  had  the  misfortune  to  be  afflicted  with  a  disease 
in  his  eyes  from  the  early  age  of  twenty-three,  a  calamity 
(says  his  biographer)  by  which  he  was  deprived  of  the  ca- 
pacity for  reading  and  study.  .  .  .  The  knowledge 
which  he  gained  from  books  after  the  period  above  men- 
tioned [by  whidi  the  editor  must  mean  his  age  of  twenty- 
three]  was  almost  exclusively  at  second  hand,  by  the  aid 
of  others."" 

Domville  states  another  fact  which  gives  us 
unquestionably  the  origin  of  this  quotation : — 

"But  although  not  to  be  found  in  Irenreus,  there  are 
in  the  wi-itings  ascribed  to  another  father,  namely,  in  the 
interpolated  epistle  of  Ignatius  to  the  Magnesians,  and  in 
one  of  its  interpolated  passages,  expressions  so  clearly  re- 
sembling those  Oi  Dr.  Dvvig-ht's  quotation  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  of  the  source  from  which  he  quoted. "  ^ 

Such,  then,  is  the  end  of  this  famous  testimo- 
ny of  Irenseus,  who  had  it  from  Polycarp,  who 
had  it  from  the  apostles  !  It  was  furnished  the 
world  by  a  man  whose  eyesight  was  impaired ; 
who  in  consequence  of  this  infirmity  took  at  sec- 
ond hand  an  interpolated  passage  from  an  epistle 


1  Examination  of  the  Six  Texts,  pp.  1: 
aid.  p.  128.  8  Id.  p. 


130. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  273 

falsely  ascribed  to  Ignatius,  and  published  it  to 
the  world  as  the  genuine  testimony  of  Irenasus. 
Loss  of  eyesight,  as  we  may  charitably  believe, 
led  Dr.  Dwight  into  the  serious  error  which  he 
has  commxitted ;  but  by  the  publication  of  this 
spurious  testimony,  which  seemed  to  come  in  a 
direct  line  from  the  apostles,  he  has  rendered 
multitudes  as  incapable  of  reading  aright  the 
fourth  commandment,  as  he,  by  loss  of  natural 
eyesight,  was  of  reading  Irenseus  for  himself. 
This  case  admirably  illustrates  tradition  as  a 
religious  guide ;  it  is  the  blind  leading  the  blind 
until  both  fall  into  the  ditch. 

Nor  is  this  all  that  should  be  said  in  the  case 
of  Irenseus.  In  all  his  writings  there  is  no  in- 
stance in  which  he  calls  Sunday  the  Lord's  day  ! 
And  what  is  also  very  remarkable,  there  is  no 
sentence  extant  written  by  him  in  which  he  even 
mentions  the  first  day  of  the  week  !  ^  It  appears, 
however,  from  several  statements  in  ancient  writ- 
ers, that  he  did  mention  the  day,  though  no  sen- 
tence of  his  in  which  it  is  mentioned  is  in  exist- 
ence. He  held  that  the  Sabbath  was  a  typical 
institution,  which  pointed  to  the  seventh  thou- 
sand years  as  the  great  day  of  rest  to  the  church ;  ^ 
he  said  that  Abraham  was  "  without  observance 
of  Sabbaths ;"  ^  and  yet  he  makes  the  origin  of 
the  Sabbath  to  be  the  sanctification  of  the  sev- 
enth day.  *  But  he  expressly  asserts  the  perpe- 
tuity and  authority  of  the  ten  commandments, 
declaring  that  they  are  identical  with  the  law  of 

1  See  his  full  testimony  in  the  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  pp. 
44-52. 

2  Against  Heresies,  book  iv.  chap.  xvi.  sects.  1,  2;  Id.  book  y. 
chap,  xxviii.  sect.  3. 

3  Id.  book  iv.  chap.  xvi.  sects  1,  2. 

4  Id.  book  V.  chap,  xxxiii.  sect.  2. 


274  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

nature  implanted  from  the  beginning  in  mankind, 
that  they  remain  permanently  with  us,  and  that 
if  any  one  does  not  observe  them  he  has  no  sal- 
vation." ^ 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  first  instance 
upon  record  in  which  the  bishop  of  Rome  at- 
tempted to  rule  the  Christian  church  was  by  AN 
EDICT  IN  BEHALF  OF  SuNDAY.  It  had  been  the 
custom  of  all  the  churches  to  celebrate  the  passo- 
ver,  but  with  this  difference  :  that  while  the  east- 
ern churches  observed  it  upon  the  fourteenth  day 
of  the  first  month,  no  matter  what  day  of  the 
week  this  might  be,  the  western  churches  kept 
it  upon  the  Sunday  following  that  day  ;  or  rath- 
er, upon  the  Sunday  following  Good  Friday. 
Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  in  the  year  196,^  took 
upon  him  to  impose  the  Roman  custom  upon  all 
the  churches ;  that  is,  to  compel  them  to  observe 
the  passover  upon  Sunday.  "  This  bold  attempt," 
says  Bower,  "  we  may  call  the  first  essay  of  pa- 
pal usurpation."^  Arid  Dowling  terms  it  the 
"  earliest  instance  of  Romish  assumption."  *  The 
churches  of  Asia  Minor  informed  Victor  that  they 
could  not  comply  with  his  lordly  mandate.  Then, 
says  Bower : — 

' '  Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  Victor,  giving  the 
reins  to  an  impotent  and  ungovernable  passion,  piiblished 
bitter  invectives  against  all  the  churches  of  Asia,  de- 
clared them  cut  off  from  his  communion,  sent  letters  of 
excommunication  to  their  respective  bishops ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  in  order  to  have  them  cut  off  from  the  com- 
munion of  the  whole  church,  wrote  to  the  other  bishops, 

1  Against  Heresies,  book  iv.  chap.  xv.  sect.  1  ;  chap.  xiii.  sect.  4. 

'-i  Bower's  History  of  the  Popes,  vol.  i.  pp.  18,  19;  Rose's  Nean- 
(ler,  pp.  188-100;  bowling's  llistorj  of  Komauisra,  book  i.  chap, 
ii.  sect.  9. 

3  History  of  the  Popes,  vol.  i.  p.  18. 

»  History  of  Romanism,  heading  of  page  32. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY   OBSERVANCE.  275 

exhorting  them  to  follow  his  example,  and  forbear  com- 
municating with  their  refractory  brethren  of  Asia."  ^ 

The  historian  informs  us  that  ''not  one  fol- 
lowed his  example  or  advice ;  not  one  paid  any 
sort  of  regard  to  his  letters,  or  showed  the  least 
inclination  to  second  him  in  such  a  rash  and  un- 
charitable attempt."     He  further  says  : — 

"Victor  being  thus  baffled  in  his  attempt,  his  success- 
ors took  care  not  to  revive  the  controversy ;  so  that  the 
Asiatics  peaceably  followed  their  ancient  practice  till  the 
Council  of  Nice,  which  out  of  complaisance  to  Constan- 
tine  the  Great,  ordered  the  solemnity  of  Easter  to  be  kept 
everywhere  on  the  same  day,  after  the  custom  of  Rome."  ^ 

The  victory  was  not  obtained  for  Sunday  in 
this  struggle,  as  Heylyn  testifies, 

"Till  the  great  Council  of  Nice  [a.  d.  325]  backed  by 
the  authority  of  as  great  an  emperor  [Constantine]  set- 
tled it  better  than  before  ;  none  but  some  scattered  schis- 
matics, now  and  then  appearing,  that  durst  oppose  the  res- 
olution of  that  famous  synod. "  ^ 

Constantine,  by  whose  powerful  influence  the 
Council  of  Nice  was  induced  to  decide  this  ques- 
tion in  favor  of  the  Roman  bishop,  that  is,  to  fix 
the  passover  upon  Sunday,  urged  the  following 
strong  reason  for  the  measure  : — 

"  Let  us  then  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  most 
hostile  rabble  of  the  Jews."  * 

This  sentence  is  worthy  of  notice.  A  deter- 
mination to  have  nothing  in  common  with  the 
Jews  had  very  much  to  do  with  the  suppression 
of  the  Sabbath  in  the  Chiistian  church.  Those 
who  rejected  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  and  chose 

1  History  of  the  Popes,  a'oI.  i.  p.  18. 

2  Id.  pp.  18,  19;  Giesler's  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  i.  sect.  57. 
8  History  of  the  Sabbath,  part  ii.  chap.  ii.  sects.  4,  5. 

*  Boyle's  Historical  View  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  p.  52,  ed.  1842. 


276  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

in  its  stead  the  more  popular  and  more  conven- 
ient Sunday  festival  of  the  heathen,  were  so  in- 
fatuated with  the  idea  of  having  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  the  Jews,  that  they  never  even  ques- 
tioned the  propriety  of  a  festival  in  common  with 
the  heathen. 

This  festival  was  not  weekl}^,  but  annual ;  but 
the  removal  of  it  from  the  fourteenth  of  the 
first  month  to  the  Sunday  following  Good  Fri- 
day was  the  first  legislation  attempted  in  honor 
of  Sunday  as  a  Christian  festival ;  and  as  Heylyn 
quaintly  expresses  it,  "  The  Lord's  day  found  it 
no  small  matter  to  obtain  the  victory.  ^  In  a 
brief  period  after  the  Council  of  Nice,  by  the 
laws  of  Theodosius,  capital  punishment  w^as  in- 
flicted upon  those  who  should  celebrate  the  feast 
of  the  passover  upon  any  other  day  than  Sun- 
day.^ The  Britons  of  Wales  were  long  able  to 
maintain  their  ground  against  this  favorite  proj- 
ect of  the  Roman  church,  and  as  late  as  the  sixth 
century  "  obstinately  resisted  the  imperious  man- 
dates of  the  Roman  pontiffs."  ^ 

Four  years  after  the  commencement  of  the 
struggle  just  narrated,  bring  us  to  the  testimony 
of  TertuUian,  the  oldest  of  the  Latin  fathers,  who 
wrote  about  A.  D.  200.  Dr.  Clarke  tells  us  that 
the  fathers  "  blow  hot  and  cold."  TertuUian  is  a 
fair  example  of  this.  He  places  the  origin  of  the 
Sabbath  at  the  creation,  but  elsewhere  says  that 
the  patriarchs  did  not  keep  it.  He  says  that 
Joshua  broke  the  Sabbath  at  Jericho,  and  after- 
ward shows  that  he  did  not  break  it.  He  says 
that  Christ  broke  the  Sabbath,  and  in  another 


1  Ilist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  ii.  sect.  5. 

2 Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chap,  xxvii. 

3  1(1.  chap,  xxxviii. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  277 

place  proves  that  he  did  not.  He  represents  the 
eighth  day  as  more  honorable  than  the  seventh, 
and  elsewhere  states  the  reverse.  He  states  that 
the  law  is  abolished,  and  in  other  places  teaches 
its  perpetuity  and  authority.  He  declares  that 
the  Sabbath  was  abrogated  by  Christ,  and  after- 
ward asserts  that  "Christ  did  not  at  all  i-escind 
the  Sabbath,"  but  imparted  "  an  additional  sanc- 
tity "  to  "  the  Sabbath  day  itself,  which  from  the 
beginning  had  been  consecrated  by  the  benedic- 
tion of  the  Father."  And  he  goes  on  to  say  that 
Christ  "  furnished  to  this  day  divine  safeguards 
— a  course  which  his  adversary  would  liave  pur- 
sued for  some  other  days,  to  avoid  honoring  the 
Creator's  Sabbath." 

This  last  statement  is  very  remarkable.  The 
Saviour  furnished  additional  safeguards  to  the 
Creator's  Sabbath.  But  "his  adversary"  would 
have  done  this  to  some  other  days.  Now  it  is 
plain,  first,  that  Tertullian  did  not  believe  that 
Christ  sanctified  some  other  day  to  take  the  place 
of  the  Sabbath  ;  and  second,  that  he  believed  the 
consecration  of  another  day  to  be  the  work  of  the 
adversary  of  God  !  When  he  wrote  these  words 
he  certainly  did  not  believe  in  the  sanctification 
of  Sunday  by  Christ.  But  Tertullian  and  his 
brethren  found  themselves  observing  as  a  festival 
that  day  on  which  the  sun  was  worshiped,  and 
they  were,  in  consequence,  taunted  with  being 
worshipers  of  the  sun.  Tertullian  denies  the 
chargje,  thous^h  he  acknowledcres  that  thei^e  was 
some  appearance  of  truth  to  it.     He  says  : — 

"  Others,  again,  certainly  with  more  information  and 
greater  verisimilitude,  believe  that  the  sun  is  our  God. 
We  shall  be  counted  Persians,  j)erhaps,  though  we  do  not 
worship  the  orb  of  day  painted  on  a  piece  of  linen  cloth, 


278  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

having  himself  every^N-here  in  his  ovra  disk.  The  idea, 
no  doubt,  has  originated  from  onr  being  known  to  turn 
to  the  east  in  prayer.  But  you,  many  of  you,  also,  un- 
der pretense  sometimes  of  worshiping  the  heavenly  bodies, 
move  your  lips  in  the  direction  of  the  sunrise.  In  the 
same  way,  if  we  devote  Sunday  to  rejoicing,  from  a  far 
different  reason  than  sun-worship,  w^e  have  some  resem- 
blance to  those  of  you  who  devote  the  day  of  Saturn  to 
ease  and  luxury,  though  they,  too,  go  far  away  from  Jew- 
ish ways,  of  w^hich  they  are  ignorant."^ 

Tertullian  pleads  no  divine  command  nor  apos- 
tolic example  for  this  practice.  In  fact,  he  offers 
no  reason  for  the  practice,  though  he  intimates 
that  he  had  one  to  offer.  But  he  finds  it  neces- 
sary in  another  work  to  repel  this  same  charge 
of  sun-worship,  because  of  Sunday  observance. 
In  this  second  answer  to  this  charge  he  states  the 
ground  of  defense  more  distinctl}^,  and  here  we 
shall  find  his  best  reason.     These  are  his  words  : — 

* '  Others,  with  greater  regard  to  good  manners,  it  must 
be  confessed,  suppose  that  the  sun  is  the  god  of  the 
Christians,  because  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  we  pray 
toward  the  east,  or  because  we  make  Sunday  a  day  of 
festivity.  Wliat  then  ?  Do  you  do  less  than  this  ?  Do 
not  many  among  you,  with  an  affectation  of  sometimes 
w^orshiping  the  heavenly  bodies  likewise,  move  your  lips 
in  the  direction  of  the  sunrise  ?  It  is  you,  at  all  events, 
who  have  even  admitted  the  sun  into  the  calendar  of  the 
week  ;  and  you  have  selected  its  day  [Sunday],  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  preceding-  day,  as  the  most  suitable  in  the 
week  for  either  an  entire  abstinence  from  the  bath,  or  for 
its  postponement  until  the  evening,  or  for  taking  rest, 
and  for  banqueting.  By  resorting  to  these  customs,  you 
deliberately  deviate  from  your  own  religious  rites  to  those 
of  strangers." " 

Tertullian,  in  this  discourse,  addresses  himself 
to  the  nations  still  in  idolatry.  With  some  of 
these,  Sunday  was  an  ancient  festival ;  with  oth- 

1  TertuUian's  Apcilogy,  sect.  Ifi. 

2  Tertullian  Ad  Nationcs,  book  i.  chap.  xiii. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  279 

ers,  it  was  of  comparatively  recent  date.  But 
some  of  these  heathen  reproached  the  Sunday- 
Christians  with  being  sun- worshipers.  And  now 
observe  the  answer.  He  does  not  say,  "We 
Christians  are  commanded  to  celebrate  the  first 
day  of  the  week  in  honor  of  Christ's  resurrection." 
His  answer  is  doubtless  the  best  that  he  knew 
how  to  frame.  It  is  a  mere  retort,  and  consists 
in  asserting,  first,  that  the  Christians  had  done 
no  more  than  their  accusers,  the  heathen;  and 
second,  that  they  had  as  good  a  right  to  make 
Sunday  a  day  of  festivity  as  had  the  heathen ! 

The  origin  of  first-day  observance  has  been  the 
subject  of  inquiry  in  this  chapter.  We  have 
found  that  Sunday  from  remote  antiquity  was 
a  heathen  festival  in  honor  of  the  sun,  and  that 
in  the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  this 
ancient  festival  was  in  oreneral  veneration  in  the 
heathen  world.  We  have  learned  that  patriotism 
and  expediency,  and  a  tender  regard  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Gentile  world,  caused  the  leaders 
of  the  church  to  adopt  as  their  religious  festival 
the  day  observed  by  the  heathen,  and  to  retain 
the  same  name  which  the  heathen  had  given  it. 
We  have  seen  that  the  earhest  instance  upon  rec- 
ord of  the  actual  observance  of  Sunday  in  the 
Christian  church,  is  found  in  the  church  of  Rome 
about  A.  D.  140.  The  first  great  effort  in  its  be- 
half, A.  D.  196,  is  by  a  singular  coincidence  the 
fii'st  act  of  papal  usurpation.  The  first  instance 
of  a  sacred  title  being  applied  to  this  festival, 
and  the  earliest  trace  of  abstinence  from  labor  on 
that  day,  are  found  in  the  writings  of  Tertullian 
at  the  close  of  the  second  century.  The  origin  of 
the  festival  of  Sunday  is  now  before  the  reader ; 
the  steps  by  which  it  has  ascended  to  supreme 


280  HISTOllY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

power  will  be  pointed  out  in  their  proper  order 
and  place. 

One  fact  of  deep  interest  will  conclude  tins 
chapter.  The  first  great  effort  made  to  put  down 
the  Sabbath  was  the  act  of  the  church  of  Rome 
in  turning  it  into  a  fast  while  Sunday  was  made 
a  joyful  festival.  While  the  eastern  churches  re- 
tained the  Sabbath,  a  portion  of  the  western 
churches,  with  the  church  of  Rome  at  their  head, 
turned  it  into  a  fast.  As  a  part  of  the  western 
churches  refused  to  comply  with  this  ordinance, 
a  long  stuggle  ensued,  tlie  result  of  which  is  thus 
stated  by  Heylyn  : — 

''In  this  difference  it  stood  a  long  time  together,  till 
in  the  end  the  Roman  church  obtained  the  cause,  and 
Saturday  became  a  fast  almost  through  all  the  parts  of 
the  western  world.  I  say  the  western  world,  and  of  that 
alone  :  the  eastern  churches  being  so  far  from  altering 
their  ancient  custom  that  in  the  sixth  council  of  Constan- 
tinople, A.  D.  692,  they  did  admonish  those  of  Rome  to 
forbear  fasting  on  that  day  upon  pain  of  censure."^ 

Wm.  James,  in  a  sermon  before  the  University 
of  Oxford,  thus  states  the  time  when  this  fast 
originated  : — 

' '  The  western  church  began  to  fast  on  Saturday  at  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century."  - 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  this  struggle  began  with 
the  third  century,  that  is,  immediately  after  the 
year  200.  Neander  thus  states  the  motive  of  the 
Roman  church : — 

"In  the  western  churches,  particularly  the  Roman, 
where  opposition  to  Judaism  was  the  prevailing  tendency, 
this  very  opposition  produced  the  custom  of  celebrating 
the  Saturday  in  particular  as  a  fast  day.'"* 

Jllistory  of  the  Sabbath,  part  2,  chap.  ii.  sect.  3. 
2  Sermons  on  the  SacraincMits  and  Sabbath,  p.  IGO. 
'■^  Neander,  p.  ISO. 


ORIGIN    OF    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  281 

By  Judaism,  Neancler  meant  the  observance  of 
the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath.  Dr.  Charles 
Hase,  of  Germany,  states  the  object  of  the  Roman 
church  in  very  expUcit  language  : — 

^'  The  Roman  church  regarded  Saturday  as  a  fast  day 
in  direct  opi^osition  to  those  who  regarded  it  as  a  Sabbath. 
Sunday  remained  a  joyful  festival  in  which  all  fasting 
and  worldly  business  was  avoided  as  much  as  possible, 
but  the  original  commandment  of  the  decalogue  respect- 
ing the  Sabbath  was  not  then  applied  to  that  day.  "^ 

Lord  King  attests  this  fact  in  the  following 
words  : — 

"  Some  of  the  western  churches,  that  they  might  not 
seem  to  Judaize,  fasted  on  Saturday,  as  Victorinus  Pet- 
avionensis  writes  :  We  use  to  fast  on  the  seventh  day. 
And  it  is  our  custom  then  to  fast,  that  we  may  not  seem, 
with  the  Jews,  to  observe  the  Sabbath."" 

Thus  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was  turned  into 
a  fast  in  order  to  render  it  despicable  before  men. 
Such  was  the  first  great  effort  of  the  Roman 
church  toward  the  suppression  of  the  ancient 
Sabbath  of  the  Bible. 


1  Ancient  Church  History,  part  i.  div.  2,  a.  d.  100-312,  sect.  G9. 

2  Enquiry  into  the  Constitution  of  the  Primitive  Church,  part  ii. 
chap.  vii.  sect.  11.  See  also  Schaflf's  "History  of  the  Christian 
Church,"  vol.  i.  p.  373. 


Sabbath  History. 


282  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 


CHAPTER    XYII. 

THE   NATURE    OF    EARLY   FIRST-DAY   OBSERVANCE. 

The  history  of  first-day  observance  compared  with  that  of 
the  popes — First-day  observance  defined  in  the  very  words 
of  each  of  the  early  fathers  who  mention  it — The  reasons 
which  each  had  for  its  observance  stated  in  his  own  words 
— Sunday  in  their  judgment  of  no  higher  sacredness  than 
Easter  or  Whitsunday,  or  even  than  the  fifty  days  between 
those  festivals — Sunday  not  a  day  of  abstinence  from  la- 
bor— The  reasons  which  are  oflered  by  those  of  them  who 
rejected  the  Sabbath  stated  in  their  own  words. 

The  history  of  first-day  observance  in  the 
Christian  church  may  be  fitly  illustrated  by  that 
of  the  bishops  of  Rome.  The  Roman  bishop  now 
claims  supreme  power  over  all  the  churches  of 
Christ.  He  asserts  that  this  power  was  given  to 
Peter,  and  by  him  was  transmitted  to  the  bishops 
of  Rome  ;  or  rather  that  Peter  was  the  first  Ro- 
man bishop,  and  that  a  succession  of  such  bish- 
ops from  his  time  to  the  present  have  exercised 
this  absolute  power  in  the  church.  They  are 
able  to  trace  back  their  line  to  apostolic  times, 
and  they  assert  that  the  pov/er  now  claimed  by 
the  pope  was  claimed  and  exercised  by  the  first 
pastors  of  the  church  of  the  Romans.  Those  who 
now  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  pope  be- 
lieve this  assertion,  and  with  them  it  is  a  conclu- 
sive evidence  that  the  pope  is  by  divine  right 
possessed  of  supreme  power.  But  the  assertion 
is  absolutely  false.  The  early  pastors,  or  bishops, 
or  elders,  of  the  church  of  the  Romans  were  mod- 
est, unassuming  ministers  of  Christ,  wholly  un- 
like  the   arrogant   bishop   of  Rome,   who   now 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  283 

usurps  the  place  of  Christ   as  the  head  of  the 
Christian  church. 

The  first  day  of  the  week  now  claims  to  be 
the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  enforces  its  authority 
by  means  of  the  fourth  commandment,  having  set 
aside  the  seventh  day,  which  that  commandment 
enjoins,  and  usurped  its  place.  Its  advocates  as- 
sert that  this  position  and  this  authority  were 
given  to  it  by  Christ.  As  no  record  of  such  gift 
is  found  in  the  Scriptures,  the  principal  argu- 
ment in  its  support  is  furnished  by  tracing  first- 
day  observance  back  to  the  early  Christians, 
who,  it  is  said,  would  not  have  hallowed  the  day 
if  they  had  not  been  instructed  to  do  it  by  the 
apostles ;  and  the  apostles  would  not  have  taught 
them  to  do  it  if  Christ  had  not,  in  their  presence, 
changed  the  Sabbath. 

But  first-day  observance  can  be  traced  no 
nearer  to  apostolic  times  than  A.  D.  140,  while 
the  bishops  of  Rome  can  trace  their  line  to  the 
very  times  of  the  apostles.  Herein  is  the  papal 
claim  to  apostolic  authority  better  than  is  that  of 
the  first-day  Sabbath.  But  with  this  exception, 
the  historical  argument  in  behalf  of  each  is  the 
same.  Both  began  with  very  moderate  preten- 
sions, and  gradually  gaining  in  power  and  sacred- 
ness,  gi'ew  up  in  strength  together. 

Let  us  now  go  to  those  who  were  the  earliest 
observers  of  Sunday  and  learn  from  them  the 
nature  of  that  observance  at  its  commencement. 
We  shall  find,  first,  that  no  one  claimed  for  first- 
day  observance  any  divine  authority;  second, 
that  none  of  them  had  ever  heard  of  the  change 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  none  believed  the  first-day 
festival  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  Sabbatic  in- 
stitution ;  third,  that  labor  on  that  day  is  never 


284  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

set  forth  as  sinful,  and  that  abstinence  from  labor 
is  never  mentioned  as  a  feature  of  its  observance, 
nor  even  implied,  only  so  far  as  necessary  in  or- 
der to  spend  a  portion  of  the  day  in  worship ; 
fourth,  that  if  we  put  together  all  the  hints  re- 
specting Sunday  observance,  which  are  scattered 
through  the  fathers  of  the  first  three  centuries, 
for  no  one  of  them  gives  more  than  two  of  these, 
and  generally  a  single  hint  is  all  that  is  found  in 
one  writer,  we  shall  find  just  four  items:  (1)  an 
assembly  on  that  day  in  which  the  Bible  was 
read  and  expounded,  and  the  supper  celebrated, 
and  money  collected ;  (2)  that  the  day  must  be 
one  of  rejoicing;  (3)  that  it  must  not  be  a  day 
of  fasting ;  (4)  that  the  knee  must  not  be  bent  in 
prayer  on  that  day. 

The  following  are  all  the  hints  respecting  the 
nature  of  first-day  observance  during  the  first 
three  centuries.  The  epistle  falsely  ascribed  to 
Barnabas  simply  says  :  "  We  keep  the  eighth  day 
with  joyfulness."  ^  Justin  Martyr,  in  v/ords  al- 
ready quoted  at  full  length,  describes  the  kind 
of  meeting  which  they  held  at  Rome  and  in  that 
vicinity  on  that  day,  and  this  is  all  that  he  con- 
nects with  its  observance.^  Irenceus  taught  that 
to  commemorate  the  resurrection,  the  knee  must 
not  be  bent  on  that  day,  and  mentions  nothing 
else  as  essential  to  its  honor.  This  act  of  stand- 
ing in  prayer  was  a  symbol  of  the  resurrection, 
which  was  to  be  celebrated  only  on  that  day,  as 
he  held.^  Bardesanes  the  Gnostic  represents  the 
Christians  as  everywhere  meeting  for  worship  on 
that  day,  but  he  does  not  describe  that  worship, 

J  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  chap.  xv. 

2  Justin  Martyr's  First  Apology,  chap.  Ixvii. 

=*  Lnst  Writings  of  Irenieiip,  Frajrinents  7  and  .'.o. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  285 

and  he  gives  no  other  honor  to  the  day.^  Tertul- 
lian  describes  Sunday  observance  as  follows : 
"We  devote  Sunday  to  rejoicing,"  and  he  adds, 
"  We  have  some  resemblance  to  those  of  you  who 
devote  the  day  of  Saturn  to  ease  and  luxury."  ^ 
In  another  work  he  gives  us  a  further  idea  of  the 
festive  character  of  Sunday.  Thus  he  says  to 
his  brethren :  "  If  any  indulgence  is  to  he  granted 
to  the  flesh,  you  have  it.  I  will  not  say  your 
own  days,  but  more  too;  for  to  the  heathens 
each  festive  day  occurs  but  once  annually ;  you 
have  a  festive  day  every  eighth  day."^  Dr.  Hey- 
lyn  spoke  the  truth  when  he  said : — 

''  Tertullian  tells  us  that  they  did  devote  the  Sunday 
partly  unto  mirth  and  recreation,  not  to  devotion  alto- 
gether ;  when  in  a  hundred  years  after  Tertullian's  time 
there  was  no  law  or  constitution  to  restrain  men  from  la- 
bor on  this  day  in  the  Christian  church."^ 

The  Sunday  festival  in  Tertullian's  time  was 
not  like  the  modern  first-day  Sabbath,  but  was 
essentially  the  German  festival  of  Sunday,  a  day 
for  worship  and  for  recreation,  and  one  on  which 
labor  was  not  sinful.  But  Tertullian  speaks  fur- 
ther respecting  Sunday  observance,  and  the  words 
now  to  be  quoted  have  been  used  as  proof  that 
labor  on  that  day  was  counted  sinful.  This  is 
the  only  statement  that  can  be  found  prior  to 
Constantine's  Sunday  law  that  has  such  an  ap- 
pearance, and  the  proof  is  decisive  that  such  was 
not  its  meaning.     Here  are  his  words  : — 

'^  We,  however  (just  as  we  have  received),  only  on  the 
day  of  the  Lord's  resurrection,  ought  to  guard,  not  only 
against  kneeling,  but  every  posture  and  oifice  of  solici- 

iBook  of  the  Laws  of  Countries. 

2  TertuUian's  Apology,  sect.  16. 

3  On  Idolatry,  chap.  xiv. 

*  Hist.  Sab.  part  2,  chap.  viii.  sect.  13. 


286  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

tude,  deferring  even  our  businesses,  lest  we  give  any  place 
to  the  devil.  Similarly,  too,  in  the  period  of  Pentecost ; 
which  period  we  distinguish  by  the  same  solemnity  of  ex- 
ultation."^ 

He  speaks  of  "  deferring  even  our  businesses  ;" 
but  this  does  not  necessarily  imply  anything  more 
than  its  postponement  during  the  hours  devoted 
to  rehgious  services.  It  falls  very  far  short  of 
saying  that  labor  on  Sunday  is  a  sin.  But  we 
will  quote  TertuUian's  next  mention  of  Sunday 
observance  before  noticing  further  the  words  last 
quoted.     Thus  he  says  : — 

' '  We  count  fasting  or  kneeling  in  worship  on  the  Lord's 
day  to  be  unlawful.  We  rejoice  in  the  same  j)rivilege 
also  from  Easter  to  Whitsunday."" 

These  two  things,  fasting  and  kneeling,  are  the 
only  acts  which  the  fathers  set  down  as  unlawful 
on  Sunday,  unless,  indeed,  mourning  may  be  in- 
cluded by  some  in  the  list.  It  is  certain  that  la- 
bor is  never  thus  mentioned.  And  observe  that 
Tertullian  repeats  the  important  statement  of  the 
previous  quotation  that  the  honor  due  to  Sunday 
pertains  also  to  the  "  period  of  Pentecost,"  that  is, 
to  the  fifty  days  between  Easter  or  Passover  and 
Whitsunday  or  Pentecost.  If,  therefore,  labor  on 
Sunday  was  in  TertuUian's  estimation  sinful,  the 
same  was  true  for  the  period  of  Pentecost,  a  space 
of  fifty  days  !  But  this  is  not  possible.  We  can 
conceive  of  the  deferral  of  business  for  one  relig- 
ious assembly  each  day  for  fifty  days,  and  also 
that  men  should  neither  fast  nor  kneel  during 
that  time,  which  was  precisely  what  the  religious 
celebration  of  Sunday  actually  was.  But  to 
make  Tertullian  assert  that  labor  on  Sunday 
was  a  sin  is  to  make  him  declare  that  such  was 

'  On  Prayer,  clijip.  xxiii.  ^  ])c  Corona,  sect,  0. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  287 

the  case  for  fifty  days  together,  which  no  one  will 
venture  to  say  was  the  doctrine  of  TertuUian. 

In  another  work  TertuUian  gives  us  one  more 
statement  respecting  the  nature  of  Sunday  ob- 
servance :  "  We  make  Sunday  a  day  of  festivity. 
"What  then  ?  Do  you  do  less  than  this  ?"_^  His 
language  is  very  extraordinary  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  he  was  addressing  heathen.  It 
seems  that  Sunday  as  a  Christian  festival  was  so 
similar  to  the  festival  which  these  heathen  ob- 
served that  he  could  challenge  them  to  show 
wherein  the  Christians  went  further  than  did 
these  heathen  whom  he  here  addressed. 

The  next  father  who  gives  us  the  nature  of 
early  Sunday  observance  is  Peter  of  Alexandria. 
He  says  :  "  But  the  Lord's  day  we  celebrate  as  a 
day  of  joy,  because  on  it  he  rose  again,  on  which 
day  we  have  received  it  for  a  custom  not  even 
to  bow  the  knee."^  He  marks  two  things  es- 
sential. It  must  be  a  day  of  joy,  and  Christians 
must  not  kneel  on  that  day.  Zonaras,  an  ancient 
commentator  on  these  words  of  Peter,  explains 
the  day  of  joy  by  saying,  "  We  ought  not  to  fast ; 
for  it  is  a  day  of  joy  for  the  resurrection  of  the 
Lord."  ^  Next  in  order,  we  quote  the  so-called 
Apostolical  Constitutions.  These  command  Chris- 
tians to  assemble  for  worship  every  day,  "  but 
principally  on  the  Sabbath  day.  And  on  the 
day  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  which  is  the 
Lord's  day,  meet  more  diligently,  sending  praise 
to  God,"  etc.  The  object  of  assembling  was  "  to 
hear  the  saving  word  concerning  the  resurrec- 
tion,"  to  "pray  thrice   standing,"  to  have   the 


1  Ad  Nationes,  book  i.  chap.  xiii.  ^  Canon  15. 

3  Ante-Nicene  Library,  vol.  xiv,  p.  322. 


288  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

prophets  read,  to  have  preaching  and  also  the 
suppei".^  These  "  Constitutions "  not  only  give 
the  nature  of  the  worship  on  Sunday  as  just  set 
forth,  but  they  also  give  us  an  idea  of  Sunday  as 
a  day  of  festivity  : — 

"jSTowwe  exhort  you,  brethren  and  fellow-servants,  to 
avoid  vain  talk  and  obscene  discourses,  and  jestings, 
drunkenness,  lasciviousness,  luxury,  unbounded  passions, 
with  foolish  discourses,  since  ice  do  not  permit  you  so  much 
as  071  the  Lord's  days,  which  are  days,  of  joy,  to  speak  or 
act  anything  unseemly."" 

This  language  plainly  implies  that  the  so-called 
Lord's  day  was  a  day  of  greater  mirth  than  the 
other  days  of  the  week.  Even  on  the  Lord's  day 
they  must  not  speak  or  act  anything  unseemly, 
though  it  is  evident  that  their  license  on  that 
day  was  greater  than  on  other  days.  Once  more 
these  "  Constitutions  "  give  us  the  nature  of  Sun- 
day observance :  "  Every  Sabbath  day  excepting 
one,  and  every  Lord's  day  hold  your  solemn  as- 
semblies, and  rejoice  ;  for  he  will  be  guilty  of 
sin  who  fasts  on  the  Lord's  day."  ^  But  no  one 
can  read  so  much  as  once  that  "  he  is  guilty  of 
sin  who  performs  work  on  this  day." 

Next,  we  quote  the  epistle  to  the  Magnesians 
in  its  longer  form,  which  though  not  written  by 
Ignatius  was  actually  written  about  the  time  that 
the  Apostolical  Constitutions  were  committed  to 
writing.     Here  are  the  words  of  this  epistle : — 

' '  And  after  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  let  every 
friend  of  Christ  keep  the  Lord's  day  as  a  festival,  the  res- 
iirrection  day,  the  queen  and  chief  of  all  the  days."* 

The  writer  of  the  Syriac  Documents  concern- 

1  Apostolical  Coustitutions,  book  ii.  sect.  7,  par.  59. 

2  Id.  book  V.  sect.  ii.  par.  10.        sid.  book  v.  sect.  iii.  par.  20. 
■1  Epistlo  to  the  Magnesians  (longer  form),  chap.  ix. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  289 

ing  Edessa  comes  last,  and  he  defines  the  serv- 
ices of  Sunday  as  follows  :  "  On  the  first  [day]  of 
the  week,  let  there  be  service,  and  the  reading  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  oblation."  ^  These 
are  all  the  passages  in  the  writings  of  the  first 
three  centuries  which  describe  early  first-day  ob- 
servance. Let  the  reader  judge  whether  we  have 
correctly  stated  the  nature  of  that  observance. 
Next  we  invite  attention  to  the  several  reasons 
ofiered  by  these  fathers  for  celebrating  the  festi- 
val of  Sunday. 

The  reputed  epistle  of  Barnabas  supports  the 
Sunday  festival  by  saying  that  it  was  the  day 
"  on  which  Jesus  rose  again  from  the  dead,"  and 
it  intimates  that  it  prefigures  the  eighth  thousand 
years,  when  God  shall  create  the  world  anew.  ^ 

Justin  Martyr  has  four  reasons  : — 

1.  "It  is  the  first  day  on  which  God  having 
wi-ought  a  change  in  the  darkness  and  matter, 
made  the  world."  ^ 

2.  "  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  on  the  same  day 
rose  from  the  dead."  ^ 

3.  "  It  is  possible  for  us  to  show  how  the  eighth 
day  possessed  a  certain  mysterious  import,  which 
the  seventh  day  did  not  possess,  and  which  was 
promulgated  by  God  through  these  rites,"  ^  i.  e., 
through  circumcision. 

4.  "  The  command  of  circumcision,  again,  bid- 
ding [them]  always  circumcise  the  children  on 
the  eighth  day,  was  a  type  of  the  true  circumcis- 
ion, by  which  we  are  circumcised  from  deceit 
and  iniquity  through  Him  who  rose  from  the 
dead  on  the  first  day  after  the  Sabbath."  ^ 

1  Syriac  Documents,  p.  8S.        ^  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  cliap.  xv. 
3  Justin's  First  Apology,  chap.  Ixvii.  •ild,  lb. 

5  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  chap.  xxir.  «Id.  chap.  xli. 


290  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

Clement,  of  Alexandria,  appears  to  treat  solely 
of  a  mystical  eighth  day  or  Lord's  day.  It  is 
perhaps  possible  that  he  has  some  reference  to 
Sunday.  We  therefore  quote  what  he  says  in 
behalf  of  this  day,  calling  attention  to  the  fact 
that  he  produces  his  testimony,  not  from  the  Bi- 
ble, but  from  a  heathen  philosopher.  Thus  he 
says : — 

' '  And  the  Lord's  day  Plato  prophetically  speaks  of  in 
the  tenth  book  of  the  Republic,  in  these  words  :  '  And 
when  seven  days  have  passed  to  each  of  them  in  the 
meadow  on  the  eighth  day  they  are  to  set  out  and  arrive 
in  four  days.'  "^ 

Clement's  reasons  for  Sunday  are  found  outside 
the  Scriptures.  The  next  father  will  give  us  a 
good  reason  for  Clement's  action  in  this  case. 

Tertullian  is  the  next  writer  who  gives  reasons 
for  the  Sunday  festival.  He  is  speaking  of  "  of- 
ferings for  the  dead,"  the  manner  of  Sunday  ob- 
servance, and  the  use  of  the  sign  of  the  cross 
upon  the  forehead.  Here  is  the  ground  on  which 
these  observances  rest : — 

"If,  for  these  and  other  such  rules,  you  insist  upon  hav- 
ing positive  Scripture  injunction,  you  will  find  none. 
Tradition  will  be  held  forth  to  you  as  the  originator  of 
them,  custom,  as  their  strengthener,  and  faith,  as  their 
observer.  That  reason  will  support  tradition,  and  cus- 
tom, and  faith,  you  will  either  yourself  perceive,  or  learn 
from  some  one  who  has. "  ^ 

TertuUian's  frankness  is  to  be  commended. 
He  had  no  Scripture  to  offer,  and  he  acknowl- 
edges the  fact.  He  depended  on  tradition,  and 
he  was  not  ashamed  to  confess  it.  The  next  of 
the  fathers  who  gives  Scripture  evidence  in  sup- 

1  Clement's  Miscellanies,  book  v.  chap.  xiv. 
^  Be  Corona,  sect.  4. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  291 

port  of  the  Sunday  festival,  is  Origen.     Here  ai^e 
his  words : — 

'^  The  manna  fell  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  not  on  the 
Sabbath  to  show  the  Jews  that  even  then  the  Lord's  day 
was  preferred  before  it."  ^ 

Origen  seems  to  have  been  of  Tertullian's  judg- 
ment as  to  the  inconclusiveness  of  the  arguments 
adduced  by  his  predecessors.  He  therefore  coined 
an  original  argument  which  seems  to  have  been 
very  conclusive  in  his  estimation  as  he  offers  this 
alone.  But  he  must  have  forgotten  that  the 
manna  fell  on  all  the  six  working  days,  or  he 
would  have  seen  that  while  his  argument  does 
not  elevate  Sunday  above  the  other  five  working 
days,  it  does  make  the  Sabbath  the  least  reputa- 
ble day  of  the  seven !  And  yet  the  miracle  of 
the  manna  was  expressly  designed  to  set  forth 
the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  and  to  establish  its 
authority  before  the  people.  Cyprian  is  the 
next  father  who  gives  an  argument  for  the  Sun- 
day festival.  He  contents  himself  with  one  of 
Justin's  old  arguments,  viz.,  that  one  drawn  from 
circumcision.     Thus  he  says  : — 

"  For  in  respect  of  the  observance  of  the  eighth  day  in 
the  Jewish  circumcision  of  the  flesh,  a  sacrament  was 
given  beforehand  in  shadow  and  in  usage  ;  but  when 
Christ  came,  it  was  fulfilled  in  truth.  For  because  the 
eighth  day,  that  is,  the  first  day  after  the  Sabbath,  was  to 
be  that  on  which  the  Lord  should  rise  again,  and  should 
quicken  us,  and  give  us  circumcision  of  the  Spirit,  the 
eighth  day,  that  is,  the  first  day  after  the  Sabbath,  and  the 
Lord's  day,  went  before  in  the  figure  ;  which  figure  ceased 
when  by  and  by  the  truth  came,  and  spiritual  circumcis- 
ion was  given  to  us. " " 

1  Origen's  Opera,  Tome  ii.  p.  153,  Paris,  a.  d.  1733,  "Quod  si 
ex  Divinis  Scripturis  hoc  constat,  quod  die  Dominica  Deus  pluit 
manna  de  cmIo  et  in  Sabbato  non  pluit,  intelligant  Judsei  jam  tunc 
prselatam  esse  Dominicam  nostram  Judaico  Sabbato." 

2  Cyprian's  Epistle,  No.  Iviii.  sect.  4. 


292  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Such  is  the  only  argument  adduced  by  Cyp- 
rian in  behalf  of  the  first-day  festival.  The 
circumcision  of  infants  when  eight  days  old  was, 
in  his  judgment,  a  type  of  infant  baptism.  But 
circumcision  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  child's  life, 
in  his  estimation,  did  not  signify  that  baptism 
need  to  be  deferred  till  the  infant  is  eight  days 
old,  but,  as  here  stated,  did  signify  that  the  eighth 
day  was  to  be  the  Lord's  day !  But  the  eighth 
day,  on  which  circumcision  took  place,  was  not 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  but  the  eighth  day  of 
each  child's  life,  whatever  day  of  the  week  that 
might  be. 

The  next  father  who  gives  a  reason  for  cele- 
brating Sunday  as  a  day  of  joy,  and  refraining 
from  kneeling  on  it,  is  Peter  of  Alexandria,  who 
simply  says,  "  Because  on  it  he  rose  again."  ^ 

Next  in  order  come  the  Apostolical  Constitu- 
tions, which  assert  that  the  Sunday  festival  is  a 
memorial  of  the  resurrection : — 

"  But  keep  the  Sabbath,  and  the  Lord's  day  festival ; 
because  the  former  is  a  memorial  of  the  creation,  and  the 
latter  of  the  resurrection."" 

The  writer,  however,  offers  no  proof  that  Sun- 
day was  set  apart  by  divine  authority  in  memory 
of  the  resurrection.  But  the  next  person  who 
gives  his  reasons  for  keeping  Sunday  "  as  a  festi- 
val "  is  the  writer  of  the  longer  form  of  the  re- 
puted epistle  of  Ignatius  to  the  Magnesians.  He 
finds  the  eighth  da}^  prophetically  set  forth  in 
the  title  to  the  sixth  and  twelfth  psalms !  In 
the  margin,  the  word  Sheminith  is  translated 
"  the  eighth."  Here  is  this  writer's  argument  for 
Sunday  : — 

»  Peter's  Canons,  No.  xv. 

2  Apostolical  Constitutions,  book  vii.  sect.  ii.  par.  23. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  293 

' '  Looking  forward  to  this^  the  prophet  declared,  '  To 
the  end  for  the  eighth  day/  on  which  our  life  both  sj^rang 
up  again,  and  the  victory  over  death  was  obtained  in 
Christ."^ 

There  is  yet  another  of  the  fathers  of  the  first 
three  centuries  who  gives  the  reasons  then  used 
in  support  of  the  Sunday  festival.  This  is  the 
writer  of  the  Syriac  Documents  concerning 
Edessa.  He  comes  next  in  order  and  closes  the 
list.     Here  are  four  reasons  : — 

1.  ^'Because  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  our  Lord 
rose  from  the  place  of  the  dead." " 

2.  "  On  the  first  day  of  the  week  he  arose  upon  the 
world,"  ^  i.  e.,  he  was  born  upon  Sunday. 

3.  "On  the  first  day  of  the  Aveek  he  ascended  up  to 
Heaven."* 

4.  ' '  On  the  first  day  of  the  week  he  will  appear  at  last 
with  the  angels  of  Heaven."" 

The  first  of  these  reasons  is  as  good  a  one  as 
man  can  devise  out  of  his  own  heart  for  doing 
what  God  never  commanded;  the  second  and 
fourth  are  mere  assertions  of  which  mankind 
know  nothing ;  while  the  third  is  a  positive  un- 
truth, for  the  ascension  was  upon  Thursday. 

We  have  now  presented  every  reason  for  the 
Sunday  festival  which  can  be  found  in  all  the 
writinsjs  of  the  first  three  centuries.  Though 
generally  very  trivial,  and  sometimes  worse  than 
trivial,  they  are  nevertheless  worthy  of  careful 
study.  They  constitute  a  decisive  testimony  that 
the  change  of  the  Sabbath  by  Christ  or  by  his 
apostles  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week  was  absolutely  unknown  during  that  entire 
period.     But  were  it  true  that  such  change  had 

1  Epistle  to  the  Magnesians,  chap.  ix. 
^Svriac  Documents,  p.  38. 
-     3  Id.  Ih.  JW.  lb.  5  Id.  lb. 


294  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

been  made  they  must  have  known  it.  Had  they 
believed  that  Christ  changed  the  Sabbath  to 
commemorate  his  resurrection,  how  emphatically 
would  they  have  stated  that  fact  instead  of  offer- 
ing reasons  for  the  festival  of  Sunday  which  are 
so  worthless  as  to  be,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
entirely  discarded  by  modern  first-day  writers. 
Or  had  they  believed  that  the  apostles  honored 
Sunday  as  the  Sabbath  or  Lord's  day,  how  would 
they  have  produced  these  facts  in  triumph  !  But 
Tertullian  said  that  they  had  no  positive  Script- 
ure injunction  for  the  Sunday  festival,  and  the  oth- 
ers, by  offering  reasons  that  were  only  devised  in 
their  own  hearts,  corroborated  his  testimony,  and 
all  of  them  together  establish  the  fact  that  even 
in  their  own  estimation  the  day  was  only  sus- 
tained by  the  authority  of  the  church.  They 
were  totally  unacquainted  with  the  modern  doc- 
trine that  the  seventh  day  in  the  commandment 
means  simply  one  day  in  seven,  and  that  the 
Saviour,  to  commemorate  his  resurrection,  ap- 
pointed that  the  first  day  of  the  week  should  be 
that  one  of  tlie  seven  to  which  the  commandment 
should  apply ! 

We  have  given  every  statement  in  the  fathers 
of  the  first  tliree  centuries  in  which  the  manner 
of  celebrating  the  Sunday  festival  is  set  forth. 
We  have  also  given  every  reason  for  that  observ- 
ance which  is  to  be  found  in  any  of  them.  These 
two  classes  of  testimonies  show  clearly  that  ordi- 
nary labor  was  not  one  of  the  things  which  were 
forbidden  on  that  day.  We  now  offer  direct 
proof  that  other  days  which  on  all  hands  are  ac- 
counted nothing  but  church  festivals  were  ex- 
pressly declared  by  the  fathers  to  be  equal  if  not 
superior  in  sacredness  to  the  Sunday  festival. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  295 

The  "  Lost  Writings  of  Iren^eus  "  gives  us  his 
mind  concerning  the  relative  sacreclness  of  the 
festival  of  Sunday  and  that  of  either  Easter  or 
Pentecost.     This  is  the  statement : — 

"  Upon  which  [feast]  we  do  not  bend  the  knee,  becd,use 
it  is  of  equal  significance  with  the  Lord's  day,  for  the  rea- 
son already  alleged  concerning  it. "  ^ 

Tertullian  in  a  passage  already  quoted,  which 
by  omitting  the  sentence  we  are  about  to  quote, 
has  been  used  as  the  strongest  testimony  to  the 
first-day  Sabbath  in  the  fathers,  expressly  equals 
in  sacredness  the  period  of  Pentecost — a  space  of 
fifty  days — with  the  festival  which  he  calls  Lord's 
day.     Thus  he  says  : — 

"Similarly,  too,  in  the  period  of  Pentecost;  which 
period  we  distinguish  by  the  same  solemnity  of  exaltation."  ^ 

He  states  the  same  fact  in  another  work : — 

'^  We  count  fasting  or  kneeling  in  worship  on  the  Lord's 
day  to  be  unlawful.  We  rejoice  in  the  same  privilege  also 
from  Easter  to  Whitsunday."  ' 

Origen  classes  the  so-called  Lord's  day  with 
three  other  church  festivals  :— 

"If  it  be  objected  to  us  on  this  subject  that  we  our- 
selves are  accustomed  to  observe  certain  days,  as  for  ex- 
ample the  Lord's  day,  the  Preparation,  the  Passover,  or 
Pentecost,  I  have  to  answer,  that  to  the  perfect  Cliristian, 
who  is  ever  in  his  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  serving 
his  natural  Lord,  God  the  Word,  all  his  days  are  the 
Lord's,  and  he  is  always  keer)ing  the  Lord's  day."* 

Irenseus  and  Tertullian  make  the  Sunday 
Lord's  day  equal  in  sacredness  with  the  period 
from  the  Passover  to  the  Pentecost ;  but  Origen, 
after  classing  the  day  with  several  church  festi- 

1  Fragment  7.  2  Tertullian  on  Prayer,  chap,  xxiii. 

3  De  Corona,  sect.  3. 

4  Origen  against  Celsus,  book  viii.  chap.  xxii. 


296  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

vals,  virtually  confesses  that  it  has  no  pre-emi- 
nence above  other  clays. 

Commodianiis,  who  once  uses  the  term  Lord's 
day,  speaks  of  the  Catholic  festival  of  the  Pass- 
over as  "  Easter,  that  day  of  ours  most  hlessecV  ^ 
This  certainly  indicates  that  in  his  estimation  no 
other  sacred  day  was  superior  in  sanctity  to 
Easter. 

The  "  Apostolical  Constitutions  "  treat  the  Sun- 
day festival  in  the  same  manner  that  it  is  treated 
by  Irenseus  and  Tertullian.  They  make  it  equal 
to  the  sacredness  of  the  period  from  Easter  to 
the  Pentecost.     Thus  they  say : — 

"  He  will  be  guilty  of  sin  who  fasts  on  the  Lord's  day, 
being  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  or  during  the  time  of 
Pentecost,  or  in  general,  who  is  sad  on  a  festival  day  to 
the  Lord."" 

These  testimonies  prove  conclusively  that  the 
festival  of  Sunday,  in  the  judgment  of  such  men 
as  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  and  others,  stood  in  tlie 
same  rank  with  that  of  Easter,  or  Whitsunday. 
They  had  no  idea  that  one  was  commanded  by 
God,  while  the  others  were  only  ordained  by  the 
church.  Indeed,  Tertullian,  as  we  have  seen, 
expressly  declares  that  there  is  no  precept  for 
Sunday  observance.^ 

Besides  these  important  facts,  we  have  decisive 
evidence  that  Sunday  was  not  a  day  of  abstinence 
from  labor,  and  our  first  witness  is  Justin,  the 
earliest  witness  to  the  Sunday  festival  in  the 
Christian  church.  Trypho  the  Jew  said  to  Jus- 
tin, by  way  of  reproof,  "  You  observe  no  festivals 
or   Sabbaths."*     This  was   exactly   adapted   to 

'  Instructions  of  Commodianus,  sect.  75. 

-  Apostolical  Constitutions,  book  v.  sect.  3,  par.  20. 

'  Ue  C'orono,  sects.  3  and  4.       *»  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  chap.  x. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  297 

bring  out  from  Justin  the  statement  that,  though 
he  did  not  observe  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sab- 
bath, he  did  thus  rest  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  if  it  were  true  that  that  day  was  with  him 
a  day  of  abstinence  from  labor.  But  he  gives  no 
such  answer.  He  sneers  at  the  very  idea  of  ab- 
stinence from  labor,  declaring  that  "  God  does  not 
take  pleasure  in  such  observances."  Nor  does  he 
intimate  that  this  is  because  the  Jews  did  not 
rest  upon  the  right  day,  but  he  condemns  the 
very  idea  of  refraining  from  labor  for  a  day,  stat- 
ing that  "the  new  law,"  which  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  commandments  given  on  Sinai  ^  re- 
quires a  perpetual  Sabbath,  and  this  is  kept  by 
repenting  of  sin  and  refraining  from  its  commis- 
sion.    Here  are  his  words  : — 

''The  new  law  requires  you  to  keep  a  perpetual  Sab- 
bath, and  you,  because  you  are  idle  for  one  day,  suppose 
you  are  pious,  not  discerning  why  this  has  been  com- 
manded you ;  and  if  you  eat  unleavened  bread,  you  say 
the  will  of  God  has  been  fulfilled.  The  Lord  our  God 
does  not  take  pleasure  in  such  observances :  if  there  is 
any  perjured  person  or  a  thief  among  you,  let  him  cease 
to  be  so ;  if  any  adulterer,  let  him  repent ;  then'he  has 
kept  the  sweet  and  true  Sabbaths  of  God."^ 

This  language  plainly  implies  that  Justin  did 
not  believe  that  any  day  should  be  kept  as  a 
Sabbath  by  abstinence  from  labor,  but  that  all 
days  should  be  kept  as  sabbaths  by  abstinence 
from  sin.  This  testimony  is  decisive,  and  it  is 
in  exact  harmony  with  the  facts  already  adduced 
from  the  fathers,  and  with  others  yet  to  be  pre- 
sented. Moreover,  it  is  confirmed  by  the  express 
testimony  of  Tertullian.     He  says  : — 

1  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  chap.  xi.  2  it|_  chap.  xii. 

Sablath  History.  SO 


298  HISTORY    OF    THE   SABBATH. 

''By  US  (to  whom  Sabbaths  are  strange,  and  the  new 
moons,  and  festivals  formerly  beloved  by  God)  the  Satur- 
nalia and  new  year's  and  mid-winter's  festivals  and  Mat- 
ronalia  are  frequented."^ 

And  he  adds  in  the  same  paragraph,  in  words 
ah-eady  quoted  : — 

''  If  any  indulgence  is  to  be  granted  to  thsjiesh,  you  have 
it.  I  will  not  say  your  own  days,  but  more  too;  for  to 
the  heathens  each  festive  day  occurs  but  once  annually  ; 
you  have  a  festive  day  every  eighth  day."^ 

TertuUian  tells  his  brethren  in  plain  language 
that  they  kept  no  sabbaths,  but  did  keep  many 
heathen  festivals.  If  the  Sunday  festival,  which 
was  a  day  of  "  indulgence "  to  the  flesh,  and 
which  he  here  mentions  as  the  "  eighth  day,"  was 
kept  by  them  as  the  Christian  Sabbath  in  place 
of  the  ancient  seventh  day,  then  he  would  not 
have  asserted  that  to  us  ''  sabbaths  are  strange." 
But  TertuUian  has  precisely  the  same  Sabbatli  as 
Justin  Mart}^'.  He  does  not  keep  the  first  day 
in  place  of  the  seventh,  but  he  keeps  a  "  perpet- 
ual sabbath,"  in  which  he  professes  to  refrain 
from  sin  every  day,  and  actually  abstains  from 
labor  on  none.  Thus,  after  saying  that  the  Jews 
teach  that  "from  the  beginning  God  sanctified 
the  seventh  day  "  and  therefore  observe  that  day, 
he  says : — 

' '  Whence  we  [Christians]  understand  that  we  still 
more  ought  to  observe  a  Sabbath  from  all  '  servile  work ' 
always,  and  not  only  every  seventh  day,  but  through  all 
time."' 

TertuUian  certainly  had  no  idea  that  Sunday 
was  the  Sabbath  in  any  other  sense  than  were 
all  the  seven  days  of  the  week.     We  shall  find  a 

» TertuUian  on  Idolatry,  chap.  xiv.  =  Id.  lb. 

3  TertuUian  Against  the  Jews,  chap.  iv. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  299 

decisive  confirmation  of  this  when  we  come  to 
quote  Tertullian  respecting  the  origin  of  the 
Sabbath.  We  shall  also  find  that  Clement  ex- 
pressly makes  Sunday  a  day  of  labor. 

Several  of  the  early  fathers  ^vi'ote  in  opposition 
to  the  observance  of  the  seventh  day.  We  now 
give  the  reasons  assigned  by  each  for  that  oppo- 
sition. The  writer  called  Barnabas  did  not  keep 
the  seventh  day,  not  because  it  was  a  ceremonial 
ordinance  unworthy  of  being  observed  by  a  Chris- 
tian, but  because  it  was  so  pure  an  institution 
that  even  Christians  cannot  truly  sanctify  it  till 
they  are  made  immortal.     Here  are  his  words  : — 

' '  Attend,  my  children,  to  the  meaning  of  this  expres- 
sion, '  He  finished  in  six  days.'  This  implieth  that  the 
Lord  will  finish  all  things  in  six  thousand  years,  for  a  day 
is  with  him  a  thousand  years.  And  he  himself  testifieth, 
saying,  'Behold,  to-day  will  be  as  a  thousand  years.' 
Therefore,  my  children,  in  six  days,  that  is,  in  six  thou- 
sand years,  all  things  will  be  finished.  '  And  he  rested 
on  the  seventh  day.'  This  meaneth:  When  his  Son, 
coming  [again],  shall  destroy  the  time  of  the  wicked  man, 
and  judge  the  ungodly,  and  change  the  sun,  and  the 
moon,  and  the  stars,  then  shall  he  truly  rest  on  the  sev- 
enth day.  Moreover,  he  says,  '  Thou  shalt  sanctify  it 
with  pure  hands  and  a  pure  heart.'  If,  therefore,  any 
one  can  now  sanctify  the  day  which  God  hath  sanctified, 
except  he  is  pure  in  heart  in  all  things,  we  are  deceived. 
Behold,  therefore:  certainly  then  one  properly  resting 
sanctifies  it,  when  we  ourselves,  having  received  the 
promise,  wickedness  no  longer  existing,  and  all  things 
having  been  made  new  by  the  Lord,  shall  be  able  to  work 
righteousness.  Then  we  shall  be  able  to  sanctify  it,  hav- 
ing been  first  sanctified  ourselves.  Further  he  says  to 
them,  '  Your  new  moons  and  your  sabbaths  I  cannot  en- 
dure. '  Ye  perceive  how  he  speaks :  Your  present  sab- 
baths are  not  acceptable  to  me,  but  that  is  which  I  have 
made  [namely  this],  when,  giving  rest  to  all  things,  I 
shall  make  a  beginning  of  the  eighth  day,  that  is,  a  be- 
ginning of  another  world,  wherefore,  also,  we  keep  the 


300  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

eighth  day  with  joyfulness,  the  day,  also,  on  which  Jesus 
rose  again  from  the  dead."^ 

Observe  the  points  embodied  in  this  statement 
of  doctrine :  1.  He  asserts  that  the  six  days  of 
creation  prefigure  the  six  thousand  3^ears  which 
our  world  shall  endure  in  its  present  state  of 
wickedness.  2.  He  teaches  that  at  the  end  of 
that  period  Christ  shall  come  again  and  make  an 
end  of  wickedness,  and  "  then  shall  he  truly  rest 
on  the  seventh  day."  3.  That  no  "  one  can  now 
sanctify  the  day  which  God  hath  sanctified,  ex- 
cept he  is  pure  in  heart  in  all  things."  4.  But 
that  cannot  be  the  case  until  the  present  world 
shall  pass  away,  "  when  we  ourselves,  having  re- 
ceived the  promise,  wickedness  no  longer  exist- 
ing, and  all  things  having  been  made  new  by  the 
Lord,  shall  be  able  to  work  righteousness.  Then 
we  shall  be  able  to  sanctify  it,  having  been  first 
sanctified  ourselves."  Men  cannot,  therefore, 
keep  the  Sabbath  while  this  wicked  world  lasts. 
5.  Therefore,  he  says,  "Your  present  sabbaths 
are  not  acceptable,"  not  because  they  are  not 
pure,  but  because  you  are  not  now  able  to  keep 
them  as  purely  as  their  nature  demands.  6. 
That  is  to  say,  the  keeping  of  the  day  which 
God  has  sanctified  is  not  possible  in  such  a 
wicked  world  as  this.  7.  But  though  the  sev- 
enth day  cannot  now  be  kept,  the  eighth  day 
can  be,  and  ought  to  be,  because  when  the  seven 
thousand  years  are  past,  there  will  be  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighth  thousand,  the  new  creation. 
8.  Therefore,  he  did  not  attempt  to  keep  the  sev- 
enth day,  which  God  had  sanctified  ;  for  that  is 
too  pure  to  be  kept  in  the  present  wicked  world, 

1  Epistle  of  Barnaba?,  chap.  xv. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  301 

and  can  only  be  kept  after  the  Saviour  comes  at 
the  commencement  of  the  seventh  thousand 
years;  but  he  kept  the  eighth  day  with  joyful- 
ness  on  which  Jesus  arose  from  the  dead.  9.  So 
it  appears  that  the  eighth  day,  which  God  never 
sanctified,  is  exactly  suitable  for  observance  in 
our  world  daring  its  present  state  of  wickedness. 
10.  But  when  all  things  have  been  made  new, 
and  we  are  able  to  work  righteousness,  and  wick- 
edness no  longer  exists,  then  we  shall  be  able  to 
sanctify  the  seventh  day,  having  first  been  sanc- 
tified ourselves. 

The  reason  of  Barnabas  for  not  observing  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  is  not  that  the  command- 
ment enjoining  it  is  abolished,  but  that  the  insti- 
tution is  so  pure  that  men  in  their  present  imper- 
fect state  cannot  acceptably  sanctify  it.  They 
will  keep  it,  however,  in  the  new  creation,  but  in 
the  meantime  they  keep  with  joyfulness  the 
eighth  day,  which  having  never  been  sanctified 
by  God  is  not  difficult  to  keep  in  the  present 
state  of  wickedness. 

Justin  Martyr's  reasons  for  not  observing  the 
Sabbath  are  not  at  all  like  those  of  the  so-called 
Barnabas,  for  Justin  seems  to  have  heartily  de- 
spised the  Sabbatic  institution.  He  denies  that 
it  was  obligatory  before  the  time  of  Moses,  and  af- 
firms that  it  was  abolished  by  the  advent  of 
Christ.  He  teaches  that  it  was  given  to  the  Jews 
because  of  their  wickedness,  and  he  expressly  af- 
firms the  abolition  of  both  the  Sabbath  and  the 
law.  So  far  is  he  from  teaching  the  change  of 
the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  or  from  making  the  Sunday  festival  a 
continuation  of  the  ancient  Sabbatic  institution, 
that  he  sneers  at  the  very  idea  of  days  of  absti- 


302  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABBATH. 

nence  from  labor,  or  days  of  idleness,  and  though 
God  gives  as  his  reason  for  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  that  that  was  the  day  on  v/hich  he 
rested  from  all  his  work,  Justin  gives  as  his  first 
reason  for  the  Sunday  festival  that  that  was  the 
day  on  which  God  began  his  work !  Of  absti- 
nence from  labor  as  an  act  of  obedience  to  the 
Sabbath,  Justin  says  : — 

"  The  Lord  our  God  does  not  take  pleasure  in  such  ob- 
servances."^ 

A  second  reason  for  not  observing  the  Sabbath 
is  thus  stated  by  him : — 

"  For  we  too  would  observe  the  fleshly  circumcision, 
and  the  Sabbaths,  and  in  short,  all  the  feasts,  if  we  did 
not  know  for  what  reason  they  were  enjoined  you — name- 
ly, on  account  of  your  transgressions  and  the  hardness  of 
your  hearts."  - 

As  Justin  never  discriminates  between  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  and  the  annual  sabbaths  he 
doubtless  here  means  to  include  it  as  well  as  them. 
But  what  a  falsehood  is  it  to  assert  that  the  Sab- 
bath was  given  to  the  Jews  because  of  their 
wickedness  1  The  truth  is,  it  was  given  to  the 
Jews  because  of  the  universal  apostasy  of  the 
Gentiles.  ^  But  in  the  following  paragraph  Jus- 
tin gives  three  more  reasons  for  not  keeping  the 
Sabbath : — 

"  Do  you  see  that  the  elements  are  not  idle,  and  keep 
no  Sabbaths  ?  Remain  as  you  were  born.  For  if  there 
was  no  need  of  circumcision  before  Abraham,  or  of  the 
observance  of  Sabbaths,  of  feasts  and  sacrilices,  before 
Moses ;  no  more  need  is  there  of  them  now,  after  that, 
according  to  the  will  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God 

>  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  chap.  xii.  ^Id.  chap,  xviii. 

■•Sec  the  third  cliapter  of  this  History. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  303 

has  been  bom  without  sin,  of  a  virgin  sprung  from  the 
stock  of  Abraham."^ 

Here  are  three  reasons:  1.  "That the  elements 
are  not  idle,  and  keep  no  Sabbaths."  Though 
this  reason  is  simply  worthless  as  an  argument 
against  the  seventh  day,  it  is  a  decisive  confirma- 
tion of  the  fact  already  proven,  that  Justin  did 
not  make  Sunday  a  day  of  abstinence  from  labor. 
2.  His  second  reason  here  given  is  that  there  was 
no  observance  of  Sabbaths  before  Moses,  and  yet 
we  do  know  that  God  at  the  beginning  did  ap- 
point the  Sabbath  to  a  holy  use,  a  fact  to  which 
as  we  shall  see  quite  a  number  of  the  fathers  test- 
ify, and  we  also  know  that  in  that  age  were  men 
who  kept  all  the  precepts  of  God.  3.  There  is 
no  need  of  Sabbatic  observance  since  Christ. 
Though  this  is  mere  assertion,  it  is  by  no  means 
easy  for  those  to  meet  it  fairly  who  represent 
Justin  as  maintaining  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

Another  argument  by  Justin  against  the  obli- 
gation of  the  Sabbath  is  that  God  "  directs  the 
government  of  the  universe  on  this  day  equally 
as  on  all  others  !"^  as  though  this  were  inconsist- 
ent with  the  present  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath, 
when  it  is  also  true  that  God  thus  governed  the 
world  in  the  period  when  Justin  acknowledges 
the  Sabbath  to  have  been  obligatory.  Though 
this  reason  is  trivial  as  an  argument  ao^ainst  the 
Sabbath,  it  does  show  that  Justin  could  have 
attached  no  Sabbatic  character  to  Sunday.  But 
he  has  yet  one  more  argument  against  the  Sab- 
bath. The  ancient  law  has  been  done  away  by 
the  new  and  final  law,  and  the  old  covenant  has 
been   superseded  by  the  new.  ^     But  he  forgets 

1  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  chap,  xxiii.  ^id.  chap.  xxix. 

"•'  Id.  chap.  xi. 


304  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

that  the  design  of  the  new  covenant  was  not  to 
do  away  with  the  law  of  God,  but  to  put  that 
law  into  the  heart  of  every  Christian.  And  many 
of  the  fathers,  as  we  shall  see,  expressly  repudi- 
ate this  doctrine  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Deca- 
logue. 

Such  were  Justin's  reasons  for  rejecting  the 
ancient  Sabbath.  But  though  he  was  a  decided 
asserter  of  the  abrogation  of  the  law,  and  of  the 
Sabbatic  institution  itself,  and  kept  Sunday  only 
as  a  festival,  modern  first-day  writers  cite  him 
as  a  witness  in  support  of  the  doctrine  that  the 
first  day  of  the  week  should  be  observed  as  the 
Christian  Sabbath  on  the  authority  of  the  fourth 
commandment. 

Now  let  us  learn  what  stood  in  the  way  of 
Irenseus'  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  It  was  not 
that  the  commandments  were  abolished,  for  we 
shall  presently  learn  that  he  taught  their  perpe- 
tuity. Nor  was  it  that  he  believed  in  the  change 
of  the  Sabbath,  for  he  gives  no  hint  of  such  an 
idea.  The  Sunday  festival  in  his  estimation  ap- 
pears to  have  been  simply  of  "  equal  significance" 
with  the  Pentecost.  ^  Nor  was  it  that  Christ 
broke  the  Sabbath,  for  Iren^eus  says  that  he  did 
not.  ^  But  because  the  Sabbath  is  called  a  sign 
he  reofarded  it  as  sio^nificant  of  the  future  kinor- 
dom,  and  appears  to  have  considered  it  no  lon- 
ger obligatory,  though  he  does  not  expressly  say 
this.  Thus  he  sets  forth  the  meaningr  of  the  Sab- 
bath  as  held  by  him  : — 

•'Moreover  the  Sabbaths  of  God,  that  is,  the  Jcmgdom, 
was,  as  it  were,  indicated  by  created  things,"  etc.  ^ 

»  Lost  Writings  of  Irenteus,  Fragment  7. 

2  Against  Heresies,  book  iv.  chap.  viii.  sect.  2. 

2  Id.  book  iv.  chap.  xvi.  sect.  1. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  305 

"These  [promises  to  the  righteous]  are  [to  take  place] 
in  the  times  of  the  kingdom,  that  is,  upon  the  seventh  day 
^hich  has  been  sanctified,  in  which  God  rested  from  all 
the  works  which  he  created,  which  is  the  true  Sabbath  of 
the  righteous,"^  etc. 

*'For  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand  years :  and 
in  six  days  created  things  were  completed :  it  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  they  will  come  to  an  end  at  the  sixth  thou- 
sand year."  ^ 

But  Irenieus  did  not  notice  that  the  Sabbath 
as  a  sign  does  not  point  forward  to  the  restitution, 
but  backward  to  the  creation,  that  it  may  signify 
that  the  true  God  is  the  Creator.  ^  Nor  did  he 
observe  the  fact  that  when  the  kingdom  of  God 
shall  be  established  under  the  whole  heaven  all 
flesh  shall  hallow  the  Sabbath.  ^ 

But  he  says  that  those  who  lived  before  Moses 
were  justified  "without  observance  of  Sabbaths," 
and  offers  as  proof  that  the  covenant  at  Horeb 
was  not  made  with  the  fathers.  Of  course  if  this 
proves  that  the  patriarchs  were  free  from  obliga- 
tion toward  the  fourth  commandment,  it  is  equal- 
ly good  as  proof  that  they  might  violate  any 
other.  These  things  indicate  that  Irenaeus  was 
opposed  to  Sabbatic  observance,  though  he  did 
not  in  express  language  assert  its  abrogation,  and 
did  in  most  decisive  terms  assert  the  continued 
obligation  of  the  ten  commandments. 

Tertullian  offers  numerous  reasons  for  not  ob- 
serving the  Sabbath,  but  there  is  scarcely  one  of 
these  that  he  does  not  in  some  other  place  ex- 
pressly contradict.  Thus  he  asserts  that  the  pa- 
triarchs before  Moses  did  not  observe  the  Sab- 

ilren^eus  against  Heresies,  book  v.  chap,  xxxiii.  sect.  2. 

2  Id.  book.  V.  chap,  xxviii.  sect.  3. 

3  Ex.  31  :17;  Eze.  20:12,  20. 
<Isa.  66:22,  23;  Dan.  7:18,  27. 


306  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

bath.  ^  But  he  offers  no  proof,  and  he  elsewhere 
dates  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  at  the  creation,  ^ 
as  we  shall  show  hereafter.  In  several  places  he 
teaches  the  abrogation  of  the  law,  and  seems  to 
set  aside  moral  law  as  well  as  ceremonial.  But 
elsewhere,  as  we  shall  show,  he  bears  express 
testimony  that  the  ten  commandments  are  still 
bindinor  as  the  rule  of  the  Christian's  life.  ^  He 
quotes  the  words  of  Isaiah  in  which  God  is  rep- 
resented as  hating  the  feasts,  new-moons,  and 
sabbaths  observed  by  the  Jews,  *  as  proof  that 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath  was  a  temporary  insti- 
tution which  Christ  abrogated.  But  in  another 
place  he  says  :  "  Christ  did  not  at  all  rescind  the 
Sabbath:  he  kept  the  law  thereof" ^  And  he  also 
explains  this  very  text  by  stating  that  God's  aver- 
sion toward  the  Sabbaths  observed  by  the  Jews 
was  "  because  they  were  celebrated  without  the 
fear  of  God  by  a  people  full  of  iniquities,"  and 
adds  that  the  prophet,  in  a  later  passage  speaking 
of  Sabbaths  celebrated  according  to  God's  com- 
mandment, "  declares  them  to  be  true,  delightful, 
and  inviolable."  ^  Another  statement  is  that 
Joshua  violated  the  Sabbath  in  the  siege  of  Jer- 
icho. ^  Yet  he  elsewhere  explains  this  very  case, 
showing  that  the  commandment  forbids  our  own 
work,  not  God's.  Those  who  acted  at  Jericho  did 
"  not  do  their  own  work,  but  God's,  which  they 


1  Answer  to  the  Jews,  chap.  ii. 

^TertuUian  against  Marcion,  book  iv.  chap.  xii. 

3  Compare  his  works  as  follows  :  Answer  to  the  Jews,  chaps,  ii. 
iii.  iv.  vi.;  Against  Marcion,  book  i.  chap.  xx. ;  book  v.  chaps,  iv. 
xix.  with  I)e  Anima,  chap,  xxxvii. ;  and,  On  Modesty,  chap.  v. 

"Lsa.  1:13,  14. 

*  Answer  to  the  Jews,  chap,  iv. ;  Against  Marcion,  book  iv. 
chap.  xii.  «  Isa.  5G  :  2;  58  :  13. 

T  Answer  to  the  Jews,  chap.  iv. ;  Against  Marcion,  book  iv. 
chap.  xii. 


EARLY    FIRST    DAY    OBSERVANCE.  307 

executed,  and  that,  too,  from  his  express  com- 
mandment." ^  He  also  both  asserts  and  denies 
that  Christ  violated  the  .Sabbath.^  Tertullian 
was  a  double-minded  man.  He  wrote  much 
against  the  law  and  the  Sabbath,  but  he  also 
contradicted  and  exposed  his  own  errors. 

Origen  attempts  to  prove  that  the  ancient  Sab- 
bath is  to  be  understood  mystically  or  spiritually, 
and  not  literally.     Here  is  his  argument : — 

"  *  Ye  shall  sit,  every  one  in  yonr  dwellings :  no  one 
shall  move  from  his  place  on  the  Sabbath  day.'  Which 
precept  it  is  impossible  to  observe  literally ;  for  no  man 
can  sit  a  whole  day  so  as  not  to  move  from  the  place 
where  he  sat  down."  ^ 

Great  men  arc  not  always  wise.  There  is  no 
such  precept  in  the  Bible.  Origen  referred  to 
that  which  forbade  the  people  to  go  out  for  man- 
na on  the  Sabbath,  but  which  did  not  conflict 
with  another  that  commanded  holy  convocations 
or  assemblies  for  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  * 

Victorinus  is  the  latest  of  the  fathers  before 
Constantino  who  offers  reasons  against  the  ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath.  His  first  reason  is  that 
Christ  said  by  Isaiah  that  his  soul  hated  the  Sab- 
bath ;  which  Sabbath  he  in  his  body  abolished ; 
and  these  assertions  we  have  seen  answered  by 
Tertullian.^  His  second  reason  is  that  "Jesus 
[Joshua]  the  son  of  Nave  [Nun],  the  successor  of 
Moses,  himself  broke  the  Sabbath  day,"  ^  which 
is  false.  His  third  reason  is  that  "  Matthias  [a 
Maccabean]  also,  prince  of  Judah,  broke  the 
Sabbath,"  *"  wliich  is  doubtless  false,  but  is  of  no 

1  Against  Marcion,  book  ii.  chap.  xxi. 

3  Against  Marcion,  book  iv.  chap.  xii. 

3  De  Priucipiis,  book  iv.  chap.  i.  sect.  17. 

•»  Ex.  16 :  29 ;  Lev.  23 : 3.  s  Creation  of  the  World,  sect.  4. 

« Id.  sect.  r..  Ud.  lb. 


308  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABSATH. 

consequence  as  authority.  His  fourth  argument 
is  original,  and  may  fitly  close  the  list  of  reasons 
assigned  in  the  early  fathers  for  not  observing 
the  Sabbath.  It  is  given  in  full  without  an  an- 
swer : — 

' '  And  in  Matthew  we  read,  that  it  is  ■v\Titten  Isaiah  al- 
so and  the  rest  of  his  colleagues  broke  the  Sabbath."^ 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  RECORD  OF  THE 
EARLY  FATHERS. 

The  first  reasons  for  neglecting  the  Sabbath  are  now  mostly 
obsolete — A  portion  of  the  early  fathers  taught  the  perpe- 
tuity of  the  decalogue,  and  made  it  the  standard  of  moral 
character — What  they  say  concerning  the  origin  of  the 
Sabbath  at  Creation — Their  testimony  concerning  the  per- 
petuity of  the  ancient  Sabbath,  and  concerning  its  observ- 
ance— Enumeration  of  the  things  which  caused  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Sabbath  and  the  elevation  of  Sunday. 

The  reasons  offered  by  the  early  fathers  for 
neglecting  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  show 
conclusively  that  they  had  no  special  light  on  the 
subject  by  reason  of  living  in  the  first  centuries, 
which  we  in  this  later  age  do  not  possess.  The 
fact  is,  so  many  of  the  reasons  offered  by  them 
are  manifestly  false  and  absurd  that  those  who 
in  these  days  discard  the  Sabbath,  do  also  dis- 
card the  most  of  the  reasons  offered  by  these 
fathers  for  this  same  course.  We  have  also 
learned  from  such  of  the  early  fathers  as  mention 
first-day  observance,  the  exact  nature  of  the  Sun- 

1  Creation  of  the  World,  sect.  5. 


SABBATH  IN  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       309 

day  festival,  and  all  the  reasons  which  in  the  first 
centuries  were  offered  in  its  support.  Yery  few 
indeed  of  these  reasons  are  now  offered  by  mod- 
ern first-day  writers. 

But  some  of  the  fathers  bear  emphatic  testi- 
mony to  the  perpetuity  of  the  ten  command- 
ments, and  make  their  observance  the  condition 
of  eternal  life.  Some  of  them  also  distinctly  as- 
sert the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  at  creation.  Sev- 
eral  of  them  moreover  either  bear  witness  to  the 
existence  of  Sabbath-keepers,  or  bear  decisive 
testimony  to  the  perpetuity  and  obligation  of  the 
Sabbath,  or  define  the  nature  of  proper  Sabbatic 
observance,  or  connect  the  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath and  first  day  together.  Let  us  now  hear 
the  testimony  of  those  who  assert  the  authority 
of  the  ten  commandments.  Iren?eus  asserts  their 
perpetuity,  and  makes  them  a  test  of  Christian 
character.     Thus  he  says  : — 

'Tor  God  at  the  first,  indeed,  warning  them  [the  Jews] 
by  means  of  natural  precepts,  which /ro?>i  the  beginning  he 
had  implanted  in  nuinkind,  that  is,  by  means  of  the  Deca- 
logue {which,  if  any  one  does  not  observe,  he  has  no  salva- 
tion), did  then  demand  nothing  more  of  them."^ 

This  is  a  very  strong  statement.  He  makes 
the  ten  commandments  the  law  of  nature  implant- 
ed in  man's  being  at  the  beginning ;  and  so  in- 
herited by  all  mankind.  This  is  no  doubt  true. 
It  is  the  presence  of  the  carnal  mind  or  law  of 
sin  and  death,  implanted  in  man  by  the  fall,  that 
has  partially  obliterated  this  law,  and  made  the 
work  of  the  new  covenant  a  necessity.^  He  again 
asserts  the  perpetuity  and  authority  of  the  ten 
commandments : — 

1  Irenfeus  Against  Heresies,  book  iv.  cliap.  xv.  sect.  1. 

2  Jer.  31 :  S3;  Rom.  7  :  21-25  :  8  : 1-7. 


310  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

'' Preparing  man  for  this  life,  the  Lord  himself  did 
speak  in  his  own  person  to  all  alike  the  words  of  the  Dec- 
alogue :  and  therefore,  in  like  manner,  do  they  remain 
permanently  with  us,  receiving,  bymeans  of  his  advent  in 
the  flesh,  extension  and  increase,  but  not  abrogation."^ 

By  the  "  extension  "  of  the  decalogue,  Irenseus 
doubtless  means  the  exposition  which  the  Saviour 
gave  of  the  meaning  of  the  commandments  in  his 
sermon  on  the  mount.^  Theophilus  speaks  in 
like  manner  concerninor  the  decaloofue  : — 

"  For  God  has  given  us  a  law  and  holy  commandments  ; 
and  every  one  who  keeps  these  can  be  saved,  and,  obtaining 
the  resurrection,  can  inherit  incorruption. "  ^ 

''We  have  learned  a  holy  law  ;  but  we  have  as  Law- 
giver him  who  is  really  God,  who  teaches  us  to  act  right- 
eously, and  to  be  pious,  and  to  do  good."* 

"  Of  this  great  and  wonderful  law  which  tends  to  all 
righteousness,  the  ten  heads  are  such  as  we  have  already 
rehearsed. "° 

TertuUian  calls  the  ten  commandments  "the 
rules  of  our  regenerate  life,"  that  is  to  say,  the 
rules  which  govern  the  life  of  a  converted  man : — 

' '  They  who  theorize  respecting  numbers,  honor  the 
number  ten  as  the  parent  of  all  the  others,  and  as  impart- 
ing perfection  to  the  human  nativity.  For  my  own  part,  I 
prefer  viewing  this  measure  of  time  in  reference  to  God, 
as  if  implying  that  the  ten  months  rather  initiated  man 
into  the  ten  commandments ;  so  that  the  numerical  estimate 
of  the  time  needed  to  consummate  our  natural  birth  should 
correspond  to  the  numerical  classification  of  the  rules  of 
our  regenerate  life.^^  ^ 

In  showing  the  deep  guilt  involved  in  the  vio- 

1  Irenaeus  Against  Heresies,  book  iv.  chap.  xvi.  sect.  4. 

'Matt,  chapters  5,  G,  7. 

3  Theophilus  to  Autolycus,  book  ii.  chap,  xxvii. 

*  Id.  book  iii.  chap.  ix. 

''Id.  lb.  *  De  Aniina,  chap,  xxxvii. 


SABBATH    IN    THE    EARLY    RECORDS,  311 

lation  of  the  seventh  commandment,  Tertullian 
speaks  of  the  sacredness  of  the  commandments 
which  precede  it,  naming  several  of  them  in  par- 
ticular, and  among  them  the  fourth,  and  then 
sa^^s  of  the  precept  against  adultery  that 

It  stands  "in  the  very  forefront  of  the  most  holy  law, 
among  the  priniary  counts  of  the  celestial  edict.^^^ 

Clement  of  Rome,  or  rather  the  author  whose 
works  have  been  ascribed  to  this  father,  speaks 
thus  of  the  decalogue  as  a  test : — 

"On  account  of  those,  therefore,  who,  by  neglect  of 
their  own  salvation,  please  the  evil  one,  and  those  who, 
by  study  of  their  own  proj&t,  seek  to  please  the  good  One, 
ten  things  have  been  prescribed  as  a  test  to  this  present 
age,  according  to  the  number  of  the  ten  plagues  which 
were  brought  upon  Egypt.  "^ 

Novatian,  who  wrote  about  A.  D.  250,  is  ac- 
counted the  founder  of  the  sect  called  Cathari  or 
Paritans.  He  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  Sabbath, 
which  is  not  extant.  There  is  no  reference  to 
Sunday  in  any  of  his  writings.  He  makes  the 
followinor  strikinor  remarks  concerninor  the  moral 

0  o  o 

law : — 

"The  law  was  given  to  the  children  of  Israel  for  this 
purpose,  that  they  might  profit  by  it,  and  return  to 
those  virtuous  manners  which,  although  they  had  received 
them  from  their  fathers,  they  had  corrupted  in  Egypt 
by  reason  of  their  intercourse  with  a  barbarous  people. 
Finally,  also,  those  ten  commandments  on  the  tables  teach 
nothing  neiv,  but  remind  them  of  what  had,  been  obliterated 
— that  righteousness  in  them,  which  had  been  put  to  sleep, 
might  revive  again  as  it  were  by  the  afflatus  of  the  law, 
after  the  manner  of  a  fire  [nearly  extinguished]."  ^ 

It  is  evident  that  in  the  judgment  of  Novatian, 

1  On  Modesty,  chap.  v. 

2  Recognitions  of  Clement,  book  iii.  chap.  Iv. 

3  Novatian  on  the  Jewish  Meats,  chap.  iii. 


312  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABBATH. 

the  ten  commandments  enjoined  nothing  that 
was  not  sacredly  regarded  by  the  patriarchs  be- 
fore Jacob  went  down  into  Egypt.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  Sabbath  was 
made,  not  at  the  fall  of  the  manna,  but  when  God 
sanctified  the  seventh  day,  and  that  holy  men 
from  the  earliest  ages  observed  it. 

The  Apostolical  Constitutions,  written  about 
the  third  century,  give  us  an  understanding  of 
what  was  widely  regarded  in  the  third  century 
as  apostolic  doctrine.  They  speak  thus  of  the 
ten  commandments : — 

"Have  before  thine  eyes  the  fear  of  God,  and  ahvays 
remember  the  ten  commandments  of  God, — to  love  the 
one  and  only  Lord  God  with  all  thy  strength  ;  to  give  no 
heed  to  idols,  or  any  other  beings,  as  being  lifeless  gods, 
or  irrational  beings  or  daemons."  ^ 

' '  He  gave  a  plain  law  to  assist  the  law  of  nature,  such 
a  one  as  is  pure,  saving,  and  holy,  in  which  his  own.  name 
was  inscribed,  perfect,  which  is  never  to  fail,  being  com-, 
plete  in  ten  commands,  unspotted,  converting  souls."' 

This  writer,  like  Irenieus,  believed  in  the  iden- 
tity of  the  decalogue  with  the  law  of  nature. 
These  testimonies  show  that  in  the  writings  of 
the  early  fathers  are  some  of  the  strongest  utter- 
ances in  behalf  of  the  perpetuity  and  authority 
of  the  ten  commandments.  Now  let  us  hear 
what  they  say  concerning  the  origin  of  the  Sab- 
bath at  creation.  The  epistle  ascribed  to  Barna- 
bas, says : — 

''And  he  says  in  another  place,  'If  my  sons  keep  the 
Sabbath,  then  will  I  cause  my  mercy  to  rest  upon  them. ' 
The  Sabbath  is  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  the  creation 
[thus] :  '  And  God  made  in  six  days   the  works  of  his 


Apostolical  Constitutions,  book  ii.  sect.  4,  par.  3-' 

Id.  book  vi.  sect,  i,  par.  1^'. 


SABBATH  IN  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       313 

hands,  and  made  an  end  on  the  seventh  day,  and  rested 
on  it,  and  sanctified  it.'  " ^ 

Irenseus  seems  plainly  to  connect  the  origin  of 
the  Sabbath  with  the  sanctification  of  the  sev- 
enth day : — 

"  These  [things  promised]  are  [to  take  place]  in  the 
times  of  the  kingdom,  that  is,  upon  the  seventh  day, 
which  has  been  sanctified,  in  wliich  God  rested  from  all 
his  works  which  he  created,  which  is  the  true  Sabbath,  in 
which  they  shall  not  be  engaged  in  any  earthly  occupa- 
tion."- 

Tertullian,  likewise,  refers  the  origin  of  the 
Sabbath  to  "  the  benediction  of  the  Father  ": — 

"But  inasmuch  as  birth  is  also  completed  with  the 
seventh  month,  I  more  readily  recognize  in  this  number 
than  in  the  eighth  the  honor  of  a  numerical  agreement 
with  the  Sabbatical  period  ;  so  that  the  month  in  which 
God's  image  is  sometimes  produced  in  a  human  birth, 
shall  in  its  number  tally  with  the  day  on  which  God's 
creation  was  completed  and  hallowed." ^ 

*'For  even  in  the  case  before  us  he  [Christ]  fulfilled 
the  law,  while  interpreting  its  condition  ;  [moreover]  he 
exhibits  in  a  clear  light  the  difi'erent  kinds  of  work,  while 
doing  what  the  law  excepts  from  the  sacredness  of  the 
Sabbath,  [and]  while  imparting  to  the  Sabbath  day  itself 
which  from  the  beginning  had  been  consecrated  by  the  bene- 
diction of  the  Fcither,  an  additional  sanctity  by  his  own 
beneficent  action."  * 

Origen,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  believed  in  a 
mystical  Sabbath,  did  nevertheless  fix  its  origin 
at  the  sanctification  of  the  seventh  day : — 

''For  he  [Celsus]  knows  nothing  of  the  day  of  the  Sab- 
bath and  rest  of  God,  which  follows  the  completion  of  the 


1  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  chap.  xv. 

^Ireuseus  Against  Heresies,  bookv.  chap,  xxxiii.  sect. 

3  De  Anima,  chap,  xxxvii. 

4  Tertullian  Against  Marcion,  book  iv.  chap.  xii. 

Sabbatli  History.  31 


314  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAIJBATII. 

world's  creation,  and  wliicli  lasts  during  the  duration  of 
the  world,  and  in  which  all  those  w^ill  keep  festival  with 
God  who  have  done  all  their  works  in  their  six  days."^ 

The  testimony  of  Novatian  which  has  been 
given  relative  to  the  sacredness  and  authority  of 
the  decalogue  plainly  implies  the  existence  of  the 
Sabbath  in  the  patriarchal  ages,  and  its  observ- 
ance by  those  holy  men  of  old.  It  was  given  to 
Israel  that  they  might  "return  to  those  virtu- 
ous manners  which,  although  they  had  received 
them  from  their  fathers,  they  had  corrupted  in 
Egypt."  And  he  adds,  "Those  ten  command- 
ments on  the  tables  teach  nothing  new,  but  re- 
mind  them  of  what  had  been  obliterated."^  He 
did  not,  therefore,  believe  the  Sabbath  to  have 
originated  at  the  fall  of  the  manna,  but  counted 
it  one  of  those  things  which  were  practiced  by 
their  fathers  before  Jacob  went  down  to  Egypt. 

Lactantius  places  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  at 
creation : — 

'*  God  completed  the  world  and  this  admirable  work  of 
nature  in  the  space  of  six  days  (as  is  contained  in  the 
secrets  of  holy  Scriptui-e)  and  consecrated  the  seventh 
day  on  which  he  had  rested  from  his  works.  But  this  is 
the  Sabbath  day,  which,  in  the  language  of  the  Hebrews, 
received  its  name  from  the  number,  w^hence  the  seventh  is 
the  legitimate  and  complete  number. "  ^ 

In  a  poem  on  Genesis  written  about  the  time 
of  Lactantius,  but  by  an  unknown  author,  we  have 
an  explicit  testimony  to  the  divine  appointment 
of  the  seventh  day  to  a  holy  use  while  man  was 
yet  in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God  : — 


1  Origen  Against  Celsus,  book  vi.  chap.  Ixi. 

"Novatian  on  the  Jewish  Meats,  chap.  iii. 

"Divine  Ingtitutea  of  Lactantius,  book  vii.  chiip.  xiv 


SABBATH    IN   THE    EARLY    RECORDS.     ^         315 

' '  The  seventh  came,  when  God 
At  his  work's  end  did  rest,  decreeing  it 
Sacred  unto  the  coming  age's  joys."  ^ 

The  Apostolical  Constitutions,  while  teaching 
the  present  obligation  of  the  Sabbath,  plainly  in- 
dicate its  origin  to  have  been  at  creation : — 

^'0  Lord  Almighty,  thou  hast  created  the  world  by 
Christ,  and  hast  appointed  the  Sahhath  hi  memory  thereof, 
because  that  on  that  day  thou  hast  made  us  rest  from  our 
works,  for  the  meditation  upon  thy  laws."^ 

Such  are  the  testimonies  of  the  early  fathers 
to  the  primeval  origin  of  the  Sabbath,  and  to  the 
sacredness  and  perpetual  obligation  of  the  ten 
commandments.  We  now  call  attention  to  what 
they  say  relative  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  Sab- 
bath, and  to  its  observance  in  the  centuries  dur- 
ing which  they  lived.  Tertullian  defines  Christ's 
relation  to  the  Sabbath  : — 

"  He  was  called  ^  Lord  of  the  Sabbath '  because  he 
maintained  the  Sabbath  as  his  own  institution."^ 

He  affirms  that  Christ  did  not  abolish  the  Sab- 
bath : — 

' '  Christ  did  not  at  all  rescind  the  Sabbath  :  he  kept  the 
law  thereof,  and  both  in  the  former  case  did  a  work 
which  was  beneficial  to  the  life  of  his  disciples  (for  he  in- 
dulged them  with  the  relief  of  food  when  they  were  hun- 
gry), and  in  the  present  instance  cured  the  withered 
hand  ;  in  each  case  intimating  by  facts,  '  I  came  not  to 
destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfill  it.'  "  * 

Nor  can  it  be  said  that  while  Tertullian  denied 
that  Christ  abolished  the  Sabbath  he  did  believe 
that  he  transferred  its  sacredness  from  the  seventh 


1  Poem  on  Genesis,  Lines  51-53. 

2  Apostolical  Constitutions,  book  vii.  sect.  2,  par.  36. 
*  Tertullian  Against  Marcion,  book  iv.  chap.  xii. 

4  Id.  lb. 


316  HISTORY   OF    THE   SABBATH. 

day  of  the  week  to  the  first,  for  he   continues 
thus : — 

"  He  [Christ]  exhibits  in  a  clear  light  the  different 
kinds  of  work,  while  doing  what  the  law  excepts  from  the 
sacredness  of  the  Sabbath,  [and]  while  imparting  to  the 
Sabbath  day  itself,  which  from  the  beginning  had  been 
consecrated  by  the  benediction  of  the  Father,  an  addi- 
tional sanctity  by  his  own  beneficent  action.  For  he  fur- 
nished to  this  day  divine  safeguards — a  course  which  his 
adversary  vMuld  have  pursued  for  some  other  days,  to  avoid 
honoring  the  Creator's  Sabbath,  and  restoring  to  the  Sab- 
bath the  works  which  were  proper  for  it."  ^ 

This  is  a  very  remarkable  statement.  The 
modern  doctrine  of  the  change  of  the  Sabbath 
was  unknown  in  Tertullian's  time.  Had  it  then 
been  in  existence,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  in 
the  words  last  quoted  he  was  aiming  at  it  a  heavy 
blow ;  for  the  very  thing  which  he  asserts  Christ's 
adversary,  Satan,  would  have  had  him  do,  that 
modern  first-day  writers  assert  he  did  do  in  conse- 
crating another  day  instead  of  adding  to  the  sanc- 
tity of  his  Father's  Sabbath. 

Archelaus  of  Cascar  in  IVIesopotamia  emphatic- 
ally denies  the  abolition  of  the  Sabbath  : — 

' '  Again,  as  to  the  assertion  that  the  Sabbath  has  been 
abolished,  we  deny  that  he  has  abolished  it  plainly  ;  for 
he  was  himself  also  Lord  of  the  Sabbath." " 

Justin  IVIartyr,  as  we  have  seen,  was  an  out- 
spoken opponent  of  Sabbatic  observance,  and  of 
the  authority  of  the  law  of  God.  He  was  by  no 
means  always  candid  in  what  he  said.  He  has 
occasion  to  refer  to  those  who  observed  the  sev- 
enth day,  and  he  does  it  with  contempt.  Thus 
he  says : — 

1  Tertnllian  Against  Marcion,  book  iv,  cUap.  xii. 
-  Disputation  with  Manes,  sect.  42. 


SABBATH  IX  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       317 

"  But  if  some,  through  weak-raindedness,  Avish  to  ol3- 
serve  such  institutions  as  were  given  by  Moses  (from 
which  they  expect  some  virtue,  but  which  vre  believe 
were  appointed  by  reason  of  the  hardness  of  the  j)eople's 
hearts),  along  with  their  hope  in  this  Christ,  and  [wish  to 
perform]  the  eternal  and  natural  acts  of  righteousness 
and  piety,  yet  choose  to  live  with  the  Christians  and  the 
faithful,  as  I  said  before,  not  inducing  them  either  to  be 
circumcised  like  themselves,  or  to  keep  the  Sabbath,  or 
to  observe  any  other  such  ceremonies,  then  I  hold  that 
we  ought  to  join  ourselves  to  such,  and  associate  with 
them  in  all  things  as  kinsmen  and  bretliren."^ 

These  words  are  spoken  of  Sabbath-keeping 
Christians.  Such  of  them  as  were  of  Jewish  de- 
scent no  doubt  generally  retained  circumcision. 
But  there  were  many  Gentile  Christians  who  ob- 
served the  Sabbath,  as  we  shall  see,  and  it  is  not 
true  that  they  observed  circumcision.  Justin 
speaks  of  this  class  as  acting  from  "  weak-mind- 
edness," yet  he  inadvertently  alludes  to  the  keep- 
ing of  the  commandments  as  the  performance  of 
"  the  ETERNAL  and  natural  acts  of  righteous- 
ness," a  most  appropriate  designation  indeed. 
Justin  would  fellowship  those  who  act  thus,  pro- 
vided they  would  fellowship  him  in  the  contrary 
course.  But  though  Justin,  on  this  condition, 
could  fellowship  these  "  weak-minded  "  brethren, 
he  says  that  there  are  those  who  ''do  not  venture 
to  have  any  intercourse  ivith,  or  to  extend  hospi- 
tality to,  such  2^ersons  ;  but  I  do  not  agree  with 
them."^  This  shows  the  bitter  spirit  which  pre- 
vailed in  some  quarters  toward  the  Sabbath, 
even  as  early  as  Justin's  time.  Justin  has 
no  word  of  condemnation  for  these  intolerant 
professors ;   he  is  only  solicitous  lest  those  per- 


1  Dialogue  with  Trvpho,  chap,  xlvii. 

2  Id.  lb. 


318  HISTORY   OF   THE    SABBATH. 

sons  wlio  perform  "  the  eternal  and  natural  acts 
of  righteousness  and  piety"  should  condemn 
those  who  do  not  perform  them. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  though  a  mystical 
writer,  bears  an  important  testimony  to  the  per- 
petuity of  the  ancient  Sabbath,  and  to  man's 
present  need  thereof  He  comments  thus  on  the 
fourth  commandment : — 

"  And  the  fourth  word  is  that  which  intimates  that  the 
world  was  created  by  God,  and  that  he  gave  us  the  seventh 
day  as  a  rest,  on  account  of  the  trouble  that  there  is  in 
life.  For  God  is  incapable  of  weariness,  and  suffering, 
and  want.  But  we  ivho  hear  flesh  need  rest.  The  seventh 
day,  therefore,  is  proclaimed  a  rest — abstraction  from  ills 
— preparing  for  the  primal  day,  our  true  rest. "  ^ 

Clement  recognized  the  authority  of  the  moral 
law ;  for  he  treats  of  the  ten  commandments,  one 
by  one,  and  shows  what  each  enjoins.  He  plain- 
ly teaches  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man, 
and  that  he  now  needs  it  as  a  day  of  rest,  and 
his  language  implies  that  it  was  made  at  the 
creation.  But  in  the  next  paragraph,  he  makes 
some  curious  suggestions,  which  deserve  no- 
tice : — 

"  Having  reached  this  point,  we  must  mention  these 
things  by  the  way ;  since  the  discourse  has  turned  on  the 
seventh  and  the  eighth.  For  the  eighth  may  possibly 
turn  out  to  be  properly  the  seventh,  and  the  seventh 
manifestly  the  sixth,  and  the  latter  properly  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  seventh  a  day  of  work.  For  the  creation  of  the 
world  was  concluded  in  six  days."" 

This  language  has  been  adduced  to  show  that 
Clement  called  the  eighth  day,  or  Sunday,  tlie 
Sabbath.  But  first-day  writers  in  general  have 
not  dared  to  commit  themselves  to  such  an  in- 

>  Clement's  ilisccllanies,  book  vi.  chap.  xvi.         -Id.  lb. 


SABBATH  IN  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       319 

terpretation,  and  some  of  them  have  expressly 
discarded  it.  Let  us  notice  this  statement  with 
especial  care.  He  speaks  of  the  ordinals  seventh 
and  eighth  in  the  abstract,  but  probably  with  ref- 
erence to  the  days  of  the  v/eek.     Observe  then, 

1.  That  he  does  not  intimate  that  the  eighth 
day  has  become  the  Sabbath  in  place  of  the  sev- 
enth which  was  once  such,  but  he  says  that  the 
eighth  day  may  possibly  turn  out  to  be  properly 
the  seventh. 

2.  That  in  Clement's  time,  A.  D.  104,  there  was 
not  any  confusion  in  the  minds  of  men  as  to 
which  day  was  the  ancient  Sabbath,  and  which 
one  was  the  first  day  of  the  week,  or  eighth  day, 
as  it  was  often  called,  nor  does  he  intimate  that 
there  was, 

3.  But  Clement,  from  some  cause,  says  that  pos- 
sibly the  eighth  day  should  be  counted  the  sev- 
enth, and  the  seventh  day  the  sixth.  Now,  if 
this  should  be  done,  it  would  change  the  num- 
bering of  the  days,  not  only  as  far  back  as  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  but  all  the  way  back  to 
the  creation, 

4.  If,  therefore,  Clement,  in  this  place,  designed 
to  teach  that  Sunday  is  the  Sabbath,  he  must 
also  have  held  tliat  it  always  had  been  such. 

5.  But  observe  that,  while  he  changes  the 
numbering  of  the  days  of  the  week,  he  does  not 
change  the  Sabbath  from  one  day  to  another. 
He  says  the  eighth  may  possibly  be  the  seventh, 
and  the  seventh,  properly  the  sixth,  and  the  lat- 
ter, or  this  one  [Greek,  ')  /^^^  i^^'P^^^  -"^'^-'"^  adi33arov,-j^ 
properly  the  Sabbath,  and  the  seventh  a  day  of 
work. 

6.  By  the  latter  must  be  understood  the  day 
last  mentioned,  which  he  says  should  be  called, 


320  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAEBATIT. 

not  tlie  seventh,  but  the  sixth  ;  and  by  the  sev- 
enth must  certainly  be  intended  that  day  which 
he  says  is  not  the  eighth,  but  the  seventh,  that  is 
to  say,  Sunda}?. 

There  remains  but  one  difficulty  to  be  solved, 
and  that  is  why  he  should  suggest  the  changing 
of  the  numbering  of  the  days  of  the  week  by 
striking  one  from  the  count  of  each  day,  thus 
making  the  Sabbath  the  sixth  day  in  the  count 
instead  of  the  seventh ;  and  making  Sunday  the 
seventh  day  in  the  count  instead  of  the  eighth. 
The  answer  seems  to  have  eluded  the  observation 
of  the  first-day  and  anti- Sabbatarian  writers  who 
liave  sought  to  grasp  it.  But  there  is  a  fact 
which  solves  the  difficulty.  Clement  s  commen- 
tary on  the  fourth  commandment,  from  which 
these  quotations  are  taken,  is  principally  made 
up  of  curious  observations  on  "  the  perfect  num- 
ber six,"  "the  number  seven  motherless  and 
childless,"  and  the  number  eight,  which  is  "  a 
cube,"  and  the  like  matters,  and  is  taken  with 
some  chancre  of  arranorement  almost  word  for 
word  from  Philo  Jud?eus,  a  teacher  who  flour- 
ished at  Alexandria  about  one  century  before 
Clement.  Whoever  will  take  pains  to  compare 
these  two  writers  will  find  in  Philo  nearly  all 
the  ideas  and  illustrations  which  Clement  has 
used,  and  the  very  language  also  in  which  he  has 
expressed  them.^  Philo  was  a  mystical  teacher 
to  whom  Clement  looked  up  as  to  a  master.  A 
statement  which  we  find  in  Philo,  in  immediate 
connection   with    several    curious    ideas,   which 


1  Compare  Clement  of  Alexandria,  vol.  ii.  pp.  386-390,  Ante- 
Nicene  library  edition,  or  the  Miscellanies  of  Clement,  book  vi. 
chap.  xvi.  wit"h  Bohn's  edition  of  Philo,  vol.  i.  pp.  3,  4,  29,  80,  81, 
32,  54,  55  ;  vol.  iii.  p.  159  ;   vol.  iv.  p.  452. 


SABBATH  IX  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       321 

Clement  quotes  from  him,  gives,  beyond  all 
doubt,  the  key  to  Clement's  suggestion  that  pos- 
sibly the  eighth  day  should  be  called  the  seventh, 
and  the  seventh  day  called  the  sixth.  Phiio  said 
that,  according  to  God's  purpose,  the  first  day  of 
time  was  not  to  be  numbered  with  the  other 
days  of  the  creation  week.     Thus  he  says  : — 

'^  And  he  allotted  each  of  the  six  days  to  one  of  the 
portions  of  the  whole,  taking  out  the  first  day,  which 
he  does  not  even  call  the  first  day,  that  it  may  not  be 
numbered  with  the  others,  but  entithng  it  one,  he  names 
it  rightly,  perceiving  in  it,  and  ascribing  to  it,  the  nature 
and  appellation  of  the  limit.  "^ 

This  would  simply  change  the  numbering  of 
the  days,  as  counted  by  Philo,  and  afterward 
partially  adopted  by  Clement,  and  make  the 
Sabbath,  not  the  seventh  day,  but  the  sixth,  and 
Sunday,  not  the  eighth  day,  but  the  seventh  ;  but 
it  would  still  leave  the  Sabbath  day  and  the 
Sunday  the  same  identical  days  as  before.  It 
would,  however,  give  to  the  Sabbath  the  name  of 
sixth  day,  because  the  first  of  the  six  days  of 
creation  was  not  counted;  and  it  would  cause 
the  eighth  day,  so  called  in  the  early  church  be- 
cause of  its  coming  next  after  the  Sabbath,  to  be 
called  seventh  day.  Thus  the  Sabbath  would 
be  the  sixth  day,  and  the  seventh  a  day  of  work, 
and  yet  the  Sabbath  would  be  the  identical  day 
that  it  had  ever  been,  and  the  Sunday,  though 
called  seventh  day,  would  still,  as  ever  before,  re- 
main a  day  on  which  ordinary  labor  was  lawful. 
Of  course,  Philo's  idea  that  the  first  day  of  time 
should  not  be  counted,  is  wholly  false ;  for  there 
is  not  one  fact  in  the   Bible  to  support  it,  but 

1  Bohn's  edition  of  Philo  Judseus,  vo\  i.  p.  4. 


322  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

many  which  expressly  contradict  it,  and  even 
Clement,  with  all  deference  to  Philo,  only  timidly 
suggests  it.  But  when  the  matter  is  laid  open, 
it  shows  that  Clement  had  no  thought  of  callinsj 
Sunday  the  Sabbath,  and  that  he  does  expressly 
confirm  what  we  have  fully  proved  out  of  other  of 
the  fathers,  that  Sunday  was  a  day  on  which,  in 
their  judgment,  labor  was  not  sinful. 

Tertullian,  at  different  periods  of  his  life,  held 
different  views  respecting  the  Sabbath,  and  com- 
mitted them  all  to  writing.  We  last  quoted  from 
him  a  decisive  testimony  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Sabbath,  coupled  with  an  equally  decisive  testi- 
mony against  the  sanctification  of  the  first  day 
of  the  week.  In  another  work,  from  which  Ave 
have  already  quoted  his  statement  that  Chris- 
tians should  not  kneel  on  Sunda}^  we  find  an- 
other statement  that  "  some  few  "  abstained  from 
kneeling  on  the  Sabbath.  This  has  probable 
reference  to  Carthage,  where  Tertullian  lived. 
He  speaks  thus  : — 

"  In  the  matter  of  kneeling  also,  praj^er  is  subject  to 
diversity  of  observance,  through  the  act  of  some  few  who 
abstain  from  kneeling  on  the  Sabbath  ;  and  since  this  dis- 
sension is  particularly  on  its  trial  before  the  churches, 
the  Lord  will  give  his  grace  that  the  dissentients  may  ei- 
ther yield,  or  else  indulge  their  opinion  without  oflfense 
to  others."^ 

The  act  of  standing  in  prayer  was  one  of  the 
chief  honors  conferred  upon  Sunday.  Those  who 
refrained  from  kneeling  on  the  seventh  day,  with- 
out doul)t  did  it  because  they  desired  to  honor 
that  day.  This  particular  act  is  of  no  conse- 
quence ;  for  it  was  adopted  in  imitation  of  those 
who,  from   tradition  and  custom,  thus   honored 

'  Tertullian  on  Prayer,  chap,  xxiii. 


SABBATH  IN  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.      323 

Sunday ;  but  we  have  in  this  an  undoubter]  ref- 
erence to  Sabbath-keeping  Christians.  Tertul- 
lian  speaks  of  them,  hov/ever,  in  a  manner  quite 
unlike  that  of  Justin  in  his  reference  to  the  com- 
mandment-keepers of  his  time. 

Origen,  like  many  other  of  the  fathers,  was  far 
from  being  consistent  with  himself  Though  he 
has  spoken  against  Sabbatic  observance,  and  has 
honored  the  so-called  Lord's  day  as  something 
better  than  the  ancient  Sabbath,  he  has  never- 
theless given  a  discourse  expressly  designed  to 
teach  Christians  the  proper  method  of  observ- 
ing the  Sabbath.  Here  is  a  portion  of  this  ser- 
mon:— 

"  But  what  is  the  feast  of  the  Sabbath  except  that  of 
which  the  apostle  speaks,  '  There  remaineth  therefore  a 
Sabbatism,'  that  is,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  by  the 
people  of  God?  Leaving  the  Jewish  observances  of  the 
Sabbath,  let  us  see  how  the  Sabbath  ought  to  be  observed 
by  a  Christian.  On  the  Sabbath  day  all  worldly  labors 
ought  to  be  abstained  from.  If,  therefore,  you  cease 
from  all  secular  works,  and  execute  nothing  worldly,  but 
give  yourselves  up  to  spiritual  exercises,  repairing  to 
cliurch,  attending  to  sacred  reading  and  instruction, 
thinking  of  celestial  things,  solicitous  for  the  future, 
placing  the  Judgment  to  come  before  your  eyes,  not  look- 
ing to  things  present  and  visible,  but  to  those  which  are 
future  and  invisible,  this  is  the  observance  of  the  Chris- 
tian Sabbath."^ 

1  Origen'' $  Opfira,  Tome  2,  p.  353,  Paris,  1733,  "  Quse  est  autetn 
festivitas  Sabbati  nisi  ilia  dequa  Apostolus  dicit,  'relinqueretur  er- 
go Sabbatismus,'  hoc  est,  Sabbati  observatio,  '  populo  Dei  "?  Re- 
linquentes  ergo  Judaicas  Sabbati  observationes,  qualis  debeat 
esse  Christiano  Sabbati  observatio,  videamus.  Die  Sabbati  nihil 
ex  omnibus  mundi  actibus  oportet  operari.  Si  ergo  desinas  ab 
omnibus  sascularibus  operibus,  et  nihil  mundanum  geras,  ?ed 
spiritalibus  operibus  vaces,  ad  ecclesiam  conveuias,  lectionibus 
divinis  et  tractatibus  aurem  prjebeas,  et  de  coelestibus  cogites,  de 
futura  spe  soUicitudinem  geras,  venturum  judicium  prje  oculis 
habeas,  non  respicias  ad  prse  scntia  et  visibilia,  sed  ad  invisibilia 
et  futura,  hjec  est  observatio  Sabbati  Christiani." — Origenis  in 
Kumerm  Homilia  23. 


324  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

This  is  by  no  means  a  bad  representation  of 
the  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  Such  a 
discourse  addressed  to  Christians  is  a  strong  evi- 
dence that  many  did  then  hallow  that  day. 
Some,  indeed,  have  claimed  that  these  words 
were  spoken  concerning  Sunday.  They  would 
have  it  that  he  contrasts  the  observance  of  the 
first  day  with  that  of  the  seventh.  But  the  con- 
trast is  not  between  the  different  methods  of 
keeping  two  days,  but  between  two  methods  of 
observing  one  day.  The  Jews  in  Origen's  time 
spent  the  day  mainly  in  mere  abstinence  from 
labor,  and  often  added  sensuality  to  idleness. 
But  the  Christians  were  to  observe  it  in  divine 
worship,  as  well  as  sacred  rest.  What  day  he 
intends  cannot  be  doubtful.  It  is  dies  Sabbati, 
a  term  which  can  signify  only  the  seventh  day. 
Here -is  the  first  instance  of  the  term  Christian 
Sabbath,  Sabbati  Christiani,  and  it  is  expressly 
applied  to  the  seventh  day  observed  by  Christians. 

The  longer  form  of  the  reputed  epistle  of  Ig- 
natius to  the  Magnesians  was  not  written  till 
after  Origen's  time,  but,  though  not  written  by 
Ignatius,  it  is  valuable  for  the  light  which  it 
sheds  upon  the  existing  state  of  things  at  the 
time  of  its  composition,  and  for  marking  the 
progress  which  apostasy  had  made  with  respect 
to  the  Sabbath.  Here  is  its  reference  to  the  Sab- 
bath and  first  day : — 

''Let  us  therefore  no  loiifjer  keep  tlie  Sabbath  after 
the  Jewish  manner,  and  rejoice  in  days  of  idleness ;  for 
*  he  that  does  not  work,  let  him  not  eat.'  For  say  the 
[lioly]  oracles,  '  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat 
thy  bread.'  But  let  every  one  of  you  keep  the  Sabbath 
after  a  spiritual  manner,  rejoicing  in  meditation  on  the 
law,  not  in  relaxation  of  the  body,  admii'ing  the  work- 
manship of  God,  and  not  eating  things  prepared  the  day 


SABBATH  IN  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       325 

before,  nor  using  lukewarm  drinks,  and  walking  within  a 
prescribed  space,  nor  finding  delight  in  dancing  and 
plaudits  which  have  no  sense  in  them.  And  after  the  ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath,  let  every  friend  of  Christ  keep 
the  Lord's  day  as  a  festival,  the  resurrection  day,  the 
queen  and  chief  of  all  the  days  [of  the  week].  Looking 
forward  to  this,  the  prophet  declared,  '  To  the  end,  for 
the  eighth  day, '  on  which  our  life  both  sprang  up  again, 
and  the  victory  over  death  was  obtained  in  Christ."^ 

This  writer  specifies  the  different  things  which 
made  up  the  Jewish  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
They  may  be  summed  up  under  two  heads.  1. 
Strict  abstinence  from  labor.  2.  Dancing  and 
carousal.  Now,  in  the  light  of  what  Origen  has 
said,  we  can  understand  the  contrast  which  this 
writer  draws  between  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
observance  of  the  Sabbath.  The  error  of  the  Jews 
in  the  first  part  of  this  was  that  they  contented 
themselves  with  mere  bodily  relaxation,  without 
raising  their  thoughts  to  God,  the  Creator,  and  this 
mere  idleness  soon  gave  place  to  sensual  folly. 

The  Christian,  as  Origen  draws  the  contrast, 
refrains  from  labor  on  the  Sabbath  that  he  may 
raise  his  heart  in  grateful  worship.  Or,  as  this 
writer  draws  it,  the  Christian  keeps  the  Sabbath 
in  a  spiritual  manner,  rejoicing  in  meditation  on 
the  law ;  but  to  do  thus,  he  must  hallow  it  in 
the  manner  which  that  law  commands,  that  is, 
in  the  observance  of  a  sacred  rest  which  com- 
memorates the  rest  of  the  Creator.  The  writer 
evidently  believed  in  the  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath as  an  act  of  obedience  to  that  law  on  which 
they  were  to  meditate  on  that  day.  And  the 
nature  of  the  epistle  indicates  that  it  was  ob- 
served, at  all  events,  in  the  country  where  it  was 

1  Epistle  to  the  Magnesians  (longer  form)  cliap.  ix. 


32G  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

written.  But  mark  the  work  of  apostasy.  The 
so-called  Lord's  day  for  which  the  writer  could 
offer  nothing  better  than  an  argument  drawn 
from  the  title  of  the  sixth  psalm  (see  its  mar- 
ginal reading)  is  expJted  above  the  Lord's  holy 
day,  and  made  the  queen  of  all  days  ! 

The  Apostolical  Constitutions,  though  not 
wiitten  in  apostolic  times,  were  in  existence  as 
early  as  the  third  century,  and  were  then  very 
generally  believed  to  express  the  doctrine  of  the 
apostles.  They  do  therefore  furnish  important 
historical  testimony  to  the  practice  of  the  church 
at  that  time,  and  also  indicate  the  great  progress 
which  apostasy  had  made.  Guericke  speaks  thus 
of  them : — 

' '  This  is  a  collection  of  ecclesiastical  statutes  purport- 
ing to  be  the  work  of  the  apostolic  age,  but  in  reality- 
formed  gradually  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  centu- 
ries, and  is  of  much  value  in  reference  to  the  history  of 
polity,  and  Christian  archteology  generally."^ 

Mosheim  says  of  them  : — 

"  The  matter  of  this  work  is  unquestionably  ancient  ; 
since  the  manners  and  discipline  of  which  it  exhibits  a 
view  are  those  which  prevailed  amongst  the  Christians 
of  the  second  and  third  centuries,  especially  those  resi- 
dent in  Greece  and  the  oriental  regions."  ^ 

These  Constitutions  indicate  that  the  Sabbath 
was  extensively  observed  in  the  third  century. 
They  also  show  the  standing  of  the  Sunday  fes- 
tival in  that  century.  After  solemnly  enjoining 
the  sacred  observance  of  the  ten  commandments, 
they  thus  enforce  the  Sabbath  : — 

"Consider  the  manifold  workmanship  of  God,  which 
received  its  beginning  through  Christ.     Thou  shalt  ob- 

»  Ancient  Church,  p.  212. 

2  Historical  Commentaries,  cent.  1.  sect.  51. 


SABBATH    IN    THE    EARLY    RECORDS.  327 

serve  the  Sabbath,  on  account  of  Him  who  ceased  from 
his  work  of  creation,  but  ceased  not  from  his  work  of 
providence  :  it  is  a  rest  for  meditation  of  the  law,  not  for 
idleness  of  the  hands.  "^ 

This  is  sound  Sabbatarian  doctrine.  To  show 
how  distinctly  these  Constitutions  recognize  the 
decalogue  as  the  foundation  of  Sabbatic  author- 
ity we  quote  the  words  next  preceding  the  above, 
though  we  have  quoted  them  on  another  occa- 
sion : — 

"Have  before  thine  eyes  the  fear  of  God,  and  always 
remember  the  ten  commandments  of  God, — to  love  the 
one  and  only  Lord  God  with  all  thy  strength  ;  to  give 
no  heed  to  idols,  or  any  other  beings,  as  being  lifeless 
gods,  or  irrational  beings  or  daemons.  "- 

But  though  these  Constitutions  thus  recognize 
the  authority  of  the  decalogue  and  the  sacred  ob- 
ligation of  the  seventh  day,  they  elevate  the 
Sunday  festival  in  some  respects  to  higher  honor 
than  the  Sabbath,  though  they  claim  for  it  no 
precept  of  the  Scriptures.     Thus  the}^  say : — 

"But  keep  the  Sabbath,  and  the  Lord's  day  festival  ; 
because  the  former  is  the  memorial  of  the  creation,  and 
the  latter  of  the  resurrection."  ^ 

' '  For  the  Sabbath  is  the  ceasing  of  the  creation,  the 
completion  of  the  world,  the  inquiry  after  laws,  and  the 
grateful  praise  to  God  for  the  blessings  he  has  be- 
stowed upon  men.  All  which  the  Lord's  day  excels,  and 
shows  the  Mediator  himself,  the  Provider,  the  Law-giver, 
the  Cause  of  the  resurrection,  the  First-born  of  the  whole 
creation."  * 

"  So  that  the  Lord's  day  commands  us  to  offer  unto 
thee,  O  Lord,  thanksgiving  for  all.     For  this  is  the  grace 


1  Apostolical  Coustitutions,  book  ii.  sect.  4,  par.  SG. 
2 Id.  lb.  aid.  book  vii.  sect.  2,  par.  23. 

*Id.  book  vii.  sect.  2,  par.  86. 


328  HISTORY   OF   THE    SABBATH. 

afforded  by  thee,  which,  on  account  of  its  greatness,  has 
obscured  all  other  blessings."  ^ 

Tested  by  his  own  principles,  the  writer  of 
these  Constitutions  was  far  advanced  in  apostasy; 
for  he  held  a  festival,  for  which  he  claimed  no  di- 
vine authority,  more  honorable  than  one  which 
he  acknowledged  to  be  ordained  of  God.  There 
could  be  but  one  step  more  in  this  course,  and 
that  would  be  to  set  aside  the  commandment  of 
God  for  the  ordinance  of  man,  and  this  step  was 
not  very  long  afterward  actually  taken.  One 
other  point  should  be  noticed.     It  is  said : — 

^'Let  the  slaves  work  five  days  ;  but  on  the  Sabbath 
day  and  the  Lord's  day  let  them  have  leisure  to  go  to 
church  for  instruction  in  piety,"" 

The  question  of  the  sinfulness  of  labor  on 
either  of  these  days  is  not  here  taken  into  the 
account ;  for  the  reason  assigned  is  tliat  the  slaves 
may  have  leisure  to  attend  public  worship.  But 
while  these  Constitutions  elsewhere  forbid  labor 
on  the  Sabbath  on  the  authority  of  the  decalogue, 
they  do  not  forbid  it  upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week.     Take  the  following  as  an  example : — 

"  O  Lord  Almighty,  thou  hast  created  the  world  by 
Clirist,  and  hast  appointed  the  Sabbath  in  memory  there- 
of, because  that  on  tlmt  day  thou  hast  made  us  rest  from 
our  ivorJis,  for  the  meditation  upon  thy  laws."^ 

The  Apostolical  Constitutions  are  valuable  to 
us,  not  as  authority  respecting  the  teaching  of 
the  apostles,  but  as  giving  us  a  knowledge  of  the 
views  and  practices  which  prevailed  in  the  third 
century.     As   these    Constitutions    were    exten- 

1  Apostolical  Constitutions,  book  ii,  sec.  4,  par.  36. 
-  Id.  book  viii.  sect.  4,  i)ar.  3o. 
'■'  1(1.  ))ook  vii.  sect.  2,  par.  OC. 


SABBATH  IN  THE  EAKLY  RECORDS.       329 

sively  regarded  as  embodying  the  doctrine  of 
the  apostles,  they  furnish  conclusive  evidence 
that,  at  the  time  when  they  were  put  in  writ- 
ing, the  ten  commandments  were  very  gener- 
ally revered  as  the  immutable  rule  of  right,  and 
that  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  was  by  many  ob- 
served as  an  act  of  obedience  to  the  fourth  com- 
mandm^ent,  and  as  the  divine  memorial  of  the 
creation.  They  also  show  that  the  first-day  fes- 
tival had,  in  the  third  century,  attained  such 
strength  and  influence  as  to  clearly  indicate  that 
ere  long  it  would  claim  the  entire  ground.  But 
observe  that  the  Sabbath  and  the  so-called 
Lord's  day  were  then  regarded  as  distinct  insti- 
tutions, and  that  no  hint  of  the  change  of  the 
Sabbath  from  the  seventh  day  to  the  first  is  even 
once  given. 

Thus  much  out  of  the  fathers  concerning  the 
authority  of  the  decalogue,  and  concerning  the 
perpetuity  and  observance  of  the  ancient  Sab- 
bath. The  suppression  of  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  elevation  of  Sunday  to  its  place, 
has  been  shown  to  be  in  no  sense  the  work  of 
the  Saviour.  But  so  great  a  work  required  the 
united  action  of  powerful  causes,  and  these  causes 
we  now  enumerate. 

1.  Hatred  toward  the  Jetus.  This  people,  who 
retained  the  ancient  Sabbath,  had  slain  Christ. 
It  was  easy  for  men  to  forget  that  Christ,  as  Lord 
of  the  Sabbath,  had  claimed  it  as  his  own  insti- 
tution, and  to  call  the  Sabbath  a  Jewish  institu- 
tion which  Christians  should  not  regard.^ 

1  A''ictorinus  says,  "Let  the  sixth  day  become  a  rigorous  fast, 
lest  we  should  appear  to  observe  any  Sabbath  with  the  Jews." — 
On.  the  Creation  of  the    world,  sect.  4.     And  Constantine  says, 

Sabbath  Historv.  ija 


330  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

2.  The  hatred  of  the  church  of  Rome  toward 
the  Sabbath,  and  its  determination  to  elevate 
Sunday  to  the  highest  place.  This  church,  as  the 
chief  in  the  work  of  apostasy,  took  the  lead  in 
the  earliest  effort  to  suppress  the  Sabbath  by 
turning  it  into  a  fast.  And  the  very  first  act  of 
papal  aggression  was  by  an  edict  in  behalf  of 
Sunday.  Thenceforward,  in  every  possible  form, 
this  church  continued  this  work  until  the  pope 
announced  that  he  had  received  a  divine  man- 
date for  Sunday  observance  [the  very  thing  lack- 
ing] in  a  roll  which  fell  from  Heaven. 

3.  The  voluntary  ohserva^iice  of  memorable 
days.  In  the  Christian  church,  almost  from  the 
beginning,  men  voluntarily  honored  the  fourth, 
the  sixth,  and  the  first  days  of  the  week,  and 
also  the  anniversary  of  the  Passover  and  the 
Pentecost,  to  commemorate  the  betrayal,  the 
death,  and  the  resurrection,  of  Christ,  and  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  acts  in  them- 
selves could  not  be  counted  sinful, 

4.  The  makiyig  of  tradition  of  equcd  authority 
with  the  Scriptures.  This  was  the  great  error  of 
the  early  church,  and  the  one  to  w^hich  that 
church  was  specially  exposed,  as  having  in  it 
those  who  had  seen  the  apostles,  or  who  had  seen 
those  who  had  seen  them.  It  was  this  which 
rendered  the  voluntary  observance  of  memorable 
days  a  dangerous  thing.  For  what  began  as  a 
voluntary  observance  became,  after  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years,  a  standing  custom,  established  by 
tradition,  which  must  be  obeyed  because  it  came 
from  those  who  had  seen  the  apostles,  or  from 

"  It  becomes  us  to  have  nothino;  in  common  with  the  perfidious 
Jews." — iSorrafes^  £crL  Jlist.  book  v.  cliap.  xxii. 


SABBATH  IX  THE  EARLY  RECORDS.       331 

those  who  had  seen  others  who  had  seen  them. 
This  is  the  origin  of  the  various  eiTors  of  the 
great  apostasy. 

5.  The  entrance  of  the  no-laiu  heresy.  This  is 
seen  in  Justin  Martyr,  the  earliest  witness  to  the 
Sunday  festival,  and  in  the  church  of  Rome  of 
which  he  was  then  a  member. 

6.  The  extensive  observance  of  Sunday  as  a 
heathen  festival.  The  first  day  of  the  week  cor- 
responded to  the  widely  observed  heathen  festi- 
val of  the  sun.  It  was  therefore  easy  to  unite 
the  honor  of  Christ  in  the  observance  of  the  day 
of  his  resurrection  with  the  convenience  and 
worldly  advantage  of  his  people  in  having  the 
same  festival  day  with  their  heathen  neighbors, 
and  to  make  it  a  special  act  of  piety  in  that  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen  was  thereby  facilitated, 
while  the  neglect  of  the  ancient  Sabbath  was 
justified  by  stigmatizing  that  divine  memorial 
as  a  Jewish  institution  with  which  Christians 
should  have  no  concern. 


332  IIISTOllY    OF    THE   SABBATH. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE  SABBATH  AND  FIRST-DAY  DURING  THE  FIRST 
FIVE  CENTURIES. 

Origin  of  the  Sabbath  and  of  the  festival  of  the  sun  contrast- 
ed— Entrance  of  that  festival  into  the  church — The  Mod- 
erns with  the  Ancients — The  Sabbath  observed  by  the 
early  Christians — Testimony  of  Morer — Of  Twisse — Of 
Giesler — Of  Mosheim — Of  Coleman — Of  Bishop  Taylor — 
The  Sabbath  loses  ground  before  the  Sunday  festival — 
Several  bodies  of  decided  Sabbatarians — Testimony  of 
Brerewood — Constant ine's  Sunday  law — Sunday  a  day  of 
labor  with  the  primitive  church — Constantine's  edict  a 
heathen  law,  and  himself  at  that  time  a  heathen — The 
bishop  of  Rome  authoritatively  confers  the  name  of  Lord's 
day  upon  Sunday — Heylyn  narrates  the  steps  by  which 
Sunday  arose  to  power — A  marked  change  in  the  history 
of  that  institution — Paganism  brought  into  the  church — 
The  Sabbath  weakened  by  Constantine's  influence — Re- 
markable facts  concerning  Eusebius — The  Sabbath  recov- 
ers strength  again — The  council  of  Laodicea  pronounces 
a  curse  upon  the  Sabbath-keepers — The  progress  of  apos- 
tasy marked — Authority  of  church  councils  considered 
— Chrysostom — Jerome — Augustine — Sunday  edicts — Test- 
imony of  Socrates  relative  to  the  Sabbath  about  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century — Of  Sozomen — Effectual  suppression 
of  the  Sabbath  at  the  close  of  the  fifth  century. 

The  origin  of  the  Sabbath  and  of  the  festival 
of  Sunday  is  now  distinctly  understood.  When 
God  made  the  world,  he  gave  to  man  the  Sabbath 
that  he  miglit  not  forget  the  Creator  of  all  things. 
When  men  apostatized  from  God,  Satan  turned 
them  to  the  worship  of  the  sun,  and,  as  a  stand- 
ing memorial  of  their  veneration  for  that  himin- 
ary,  caused  them  to  dedicate  to  his  honor  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  When  tlie  elements  of  apostasy 
had  sufficiently  matured  in  the  Christian  church, 
this  ancient  festival  stood  forth  as  a  rival  to  the 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  333 

Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  The  manner  in  which  it 
obtained  a  foothold  in  the  Christian  church  has 
been  ah^eady  shown ;  and  many  facts  which  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  struggle  between 
these  rival  institutions  have  also  been  given.  We 
have,  in  the  preceding  chapters,  given  the  state- 
ments of  the  most  ancient  Christian  writers  re- 
specting the  Sabbath  and  first-day  in  the  early 
church.  As  we  now  trace  the  history  of  these 
two  days  during  the  first  five  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era,  we  shall  give  the  statements  of 
modern  church  historians,  covering  the  same 
ground  with  the  early  fathers,  and  shall  also 
quote  in  continuation  of  the  ancient  writers  the 
testimonies  of  the  earliest  church  historians. 
The  reader  can  thus  discover  how  nearly  the  an- 
cients and  moderns  agree.  Of  the  observance  of 
the  Sabbath  in  the  early  church,  Morer  speaks 
thus : — 

' '  The  primitive  Christians  had  a  great  veneration  for 
the  Sabbath,  and  spent  the  day  in  devotion  and  sermons. 
And  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  they  derived  this  practice 
from  the  apostles  themselves,  as  appears  by  several  script- 
ures to  that  purpose  ;  who,  keeping  both  that  day  and 
the  first  of  the  week,  gave  occasion  to  the  succeeding 
ages  to  join  them  together,  and  make  it  one  festival, 
though  there  was  not  the  same  reason  for  the  continuance 
of  the  custom  as  there  was  to  begin  it."^ 

A  learned  English  first-day  writer  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  William  Twisse,  D.  D.,  thus  states 
the  early  history  of  these  two  days  : — 

' '  Yet  for  some  hundred  years  in  the  x^rimitive  church, 
not  the  Lord's  day  only,  but  the  seventh  day  also,  was 
religiously  observed,  not  by  Ebion  and  Cerinthus  only, 
but  by  pious  Christians  also,  as  Baronius  -vvriteth,  and 
Gomarus  confesseth,  and  Rivet  also,  that  we  are  bound 

1  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  180. 


334  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

in  conscience  under  the  gospel,  to  allow  for  God's  service 
a  better  proportion  of  time,  than  the  Jews  did  under  the 
law,  rather  than  a  worse."  ^ 

That  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  was  nob 
confined  to  Jewish  converts,  the  learned  Giesler 
explicitly  testifies : — 

''While  the  Je-\\dsh  Christians  of  Palestine  retained 
the  entire  Mosaic  law,  and  consequently  the  Jewish  festi- 
vals, the  Gentile  Christians  observed  also  the  Sabbath  and 
the  passover,"  with  reference  to  the  last  scenes  of  Jesus' 
life,  but  without  Jewish  superstition.  In  addition  to 
these,  Sunday,  as  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection,  was 
devoted  to  religious  services."^ 

The  statement  of  Mosheim  may  be  thought  to 
contradict  that  of  Giesler.    Thus  he  says : — 

' '  The  seventh  day  of  the  week  was  also  observed  as  a 
festival,  not  by  the  Christians  in  general,  but  by  such 
churches  only  as  were  principally  composed  of  Jewish 
converts,  nor  did  the  other  Christians  censure  this  cus- 
tom as  criminal  and  unlawful."* 

It  will  be  observed  that  Mosheim  does  not  de- 
ny that  the  Jewish  converts  observed  the  Sab- 
bath. He  denies  that  this  was  done  by  the  Gen- 
tile Christians.  The  proof  on  which  he  rests  this 
denial  is  thus  stated  by  him  : — 

"The  churches  of  Bithynia,  of  which  Pliny  speaks,  in 
his  letter  to  Trajan,  had  only  one  stated  day  for  the  cel- 
ebration of  public  worship ;  and  that  was  undoubtedly 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  or  what  we  call  the  Lord's 
day."=^ 

1  Morality  of  the  Fourth  Commandment,  p.  9,  London,  1641. 

2  1  Cor.  5  :6-8.  3Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  i.  chap.  ii.  sect.  30. 

*  Eccl.  Hist,  book  i.  cent.  1,  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sect.  4.  Dr.  Mur- 
dock's  translation  is  more  accurate  than  that  above  by  Maclaine. 
lie  gives  it  thus  :  "Moreover,  those  congregations,  which  either 
lived  intermingled  with  Jews,  or  were  composed  in  great  meas- 
ure of  Jews,  were  accustomed  also  to  observe  the  seventh  dajj  of 
the  week,  as  a  SAcuEn  day  :  for  doing  which,  the  other  Christians 
taxed  them  with  no  wrong."  *Id.  margin. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  335 

The  proposition  to  be  proved  is  this :  The  Gen- 
tile Christians  did  not  observe  the  Sabbath.  The 
proof  is  found  in  the  following  fact :  The  church- 
es of  Bithynia  assembled  on  a  stated  day  for  the 
celebration  of  divine  worship.  It  is  seen  there- 
fore that  the  conclusion  is  gratuitous,  and  wholly 
unauthorized  by  the  testimony.^  But  this  in- 
stance shows  the  dexterity  of  Mosheim  in  draw- 
ing inferences,  and  gives  us  some  insight  into  the 
kind  of  evidence  which  supports  some  of  these 
sweeping  statements  in  behalf  of  Sunday.  Who 
can  say  that  this  "  stated  day  "  was  not  the  very 
day  enjoined  in  the  fourth  commandment  ?  Of  the 
Sabbath  and  first  day  in  the  early  ages  of  the 
church,  Coleman  speaks  as  follows  : — 

"  The  last  day  of  tlie  week  was  strictly  ke]3t  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  the  first  day,  for  a  long  time  after  the 
overthrow  of  the  temple  and  its  worship.  Down  even  to 
the  fifth  century  the  observance  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
was  continued  in  the  Christian  church,  but  with  a  rigor 
and  solemnity  gradually  diminishing  until  it  was  wholly 
discontinued."" 

This  is  a  most  explicit  acknowledgment  that 
the  Bible  Sabbath  was  long  observed  by  the 
body  of  the  Christian  church.  Coleman  is  a  first- 
day  writer,  and  therefore  not  likely  to  state  the 
case  too  strongly  in  behalf  of  the  seventh  day. 
He  is  a  modern  writer,  but  we  have  already 
proved  his  statements  true  out  of  the  ancients. 
It  is  true  that  Coleman  speaks  also  of  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  yet  his  subsequent  language 
shows  that  it  was  a  long  while  before  this  be- 
came a  sacred  day.     Thus  he  says  : — 

"  During  the  early  ages  of  the  church  it  was  never  en- 

1  See  chap,  xiv.  of  this  History.  ^ 

2  Ancient  Christianity  Exempl'iticd,  chap.  xxvi.  sect.  2. 


336  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

titled  'the  Sabbath,'  this  word  being  confined  to  the 
seventh  day  of  the  week,  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  which,  as 
we  have  ah'eady  said,  continued  to  be  observed  for  sev- 
eral centuries  by  the  converts  to  Christianity. "  ^ 

This  fact  is  made  still  clearer  by  the  following 
language,  in  which  this  historian  admits  Sunday 
to  be  nothing  but  a  human  ordinance  : — 

''No  law  or  precept  appears  to  have  been  given  by 
Christ  or  the  apostles,  either  for  the  abrogation  of  the 
Jewish  Sabbath,  or  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  day, 
or  the  substitution  of  the  first  for  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week."  ^ 

Coleman  does  not  seem  to  realize  that  in  mak- 
ing this  truthful  statement  he  has  directly  ac- 
knowledged that  the  ancient  Sabbath  is  still  in 
full  force  as  a  divine  institution,  and  that  first- 
day  observance  is  only  authorized  by  the  tradi- 
tions of  men.  He  next  relates  the  manner  in 
which  this  Sunday  festival  which  iiad  been  nour- 
ished in  the  bosom  of  the  church  usurped  the 
place  of  the  Lord's  Sabbath ;  a  warning  to  all 
Christians  of  the  tendency  of  human  institutions, 
if  cherished  by  the  people  of  God,  to  destroy 
those  which  are  divine.  Let  this  important  lan- 
guage be  carefully  pondered.    He  speaks  thus : — 

"The  observance  of  the  Lord's  day  was  ordered  while 
yet  the  Sabbath  of  the  Jews  was  continued  ;  nor  was  the 
latter  superseded  until  the  former  had  acquired  the  same 
solemnity  and  importance,  which  belonged,  at  first,  to 
that  great  day  which  God  originally  ordained  and  blessed. 

But  in  time,  after  the  Lord's  day  was  fully 

established,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  of  the  Jews 
was  gradually  discontinued,  and  was  finally  denounced 
as  heretical."  ^ 

Thus  is  seen  the  result  of  cherishing  this  harm- 

~       — 

'Anc.  Christ.  Exem,  chap.  xxvi.  sect.  2.     ^\d.  lb.     Md.  lb. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  337 

less  Sunday  festival  in  the  church.  It  only  asked 
toleration  at  first ;  but  gaining  strength  by  de- 
grees, it  gradually  undermined  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord,  and  finally  denounced  its  observance 
as  heretical. 

Jeremy  Taylor,  a  distinguished  bishop  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  a  man  of  great  erudition, 
but  a  decided  opponent  of  Sabbatic  obligation, 
confirms  the  testimony  of  Coleman.  He  affirms 
that  the  Sabbath  was  observed  by  the  Christians 
of  the  first  three  hundred  years,  but  denies  that 
they  did  this  out  of  respect  to  the  authority  oi 
the  law  of  God.  But  we  have  shov/n  from  the 
fathers  that  those  who  hallowed  tlie  Sabbath  did 
it  as  an  act  of  obedience  to  the  fourth  command- 
ment, and  that  the  decalogue  was  acknowledged 
as  of  perpetual  obligation,  and  as  the  perfect 
rule  of  right.  As  Bishop  T.  denies  that  this  was 
their  ground  of  observance,  he  should  have  shown 
some  other,  which  he  has  not  done.  Thus  he 
says : — 

"  The  Lord's  day  did  not  succeed  in  the  place  of  the 
Sabbath,  but  the  Sabbath  was  wholly  abrogated,  and  the 
Lord's  day  was  merely  an  ecclesiastical  institution.  It 
was  not  introduced  by  virtue  of  the  fourth  commandment, 
because  they  for  almost  three  hundred  years  together 
kept  that  day  which  was  in  that  commandment ;  but  they 
did  it  also  without  any  opinion  of  prime  obligation,  and 
therefore  they  did  not  suppose  it  moral.  "^ 

That  such  an  opinion  relative  to  the  obligation 
of  the  fourth  commandment  had  gained  ground 
extensively  among  the  leaders  of  the  church,  as 
early  at  least  as  the  fourth  century,  an^  probably 
in  the  third,  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  council  of  Laodicea,  A.  D.  364,  which 

^  Diictor  Diihitardium,  part  i.  book  ii.  chap.  ii.  rule  6,  sect.  51. 


338  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABBATH. 

anathematized  those  "who  should  observe  the  Sab- 
bath, as  will  be  noticed  in  its  place.  That  this 
loose  view  of  the  moralit}^  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment was  resisted  by  many,  is  shown  by 
the  existence  of  various  bodies  of  steadfast  Sab- 
batarians in  that  age,  whose  memory  has  come 
down  to  us ;  and  also  by  the  fact  that  that  coun- 
cil made  such  a  vigorous  effort  to  put  down  the 
Sabbath.  Coleman  has  clearly  portrayed  the  grad- 
ual depression  of  the  Sabbath,  as  the  first-day 
festival  arose  in  strength,  until  Sabbath-keeping 
became  heretical,  when,  by  ecclesiastical  author- 
ity, the  Sabbath  was  suppressed,  and  the  festival 
of  Sunday  became  fully  established  as  a  new  and 
different  institution.  The  natural  consequence  of 
this  is  seen  in  the  rise  of  distinct  sects,  or  bodies, 
who  were  distinguished  for  their  observance 
of  the  seventh  day.  That  they  should  be  de- 
nounced as  heretical  and  falsely  charged  with 
many  errors  is  not  surprising,  when  we  consider 
that  their  memory  has  been  handed  down  to  us  by 
their  opponents,  and  that  Sabbath-keepers  in  our 
own  time  are  not  unfrequently  treated  in  this 
very  manner.  The  first  of  these  ancient  Sabba- 
tarian bodies  was  the  Nazarenes.  Of  these,  Morer 
testifies  that. 

They  "  retained  the  Sabbatli ;  and  though  they  x^re- 
tended  to  believe  as  Christians,  yet  they  practiced  as 
Jews,  and  so  were  in  reality  neither  one  nor  the  other.  "^ 

And  Dr.  Francis  AVhite,  lord  bishop  of  Ely, 
mentions  the  Nazarenes  as  one  of  the  ancient 
bodies  of  Sabbath-keepers  who  were  condemned 
by  the  church  leaders  for  that  hei'esy ;   and  he 


Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  6(5. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  339 

classes  them  with  heretics  as  Morer  has  done.^ 
Yet  the  Nazarenes  have  a  peculiar  claim  to  our 
regard,  as  being  in  reality  the  apostolic  church  of 
Jerusalem,  and  its  direct  successors.  Thus  Gib- 
bon testifies : — 

' '  The  Jewish  converts,  or,  as  they  were  afterwards 
called,  the  Nazarenes,  who  had  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  church,  soon  found  themselves  overwhelmed  by  the 
increasing  multitudes,  that  from  all  the  various  religions 
of  polytheism  enlisted  under  the  banner  of  Christ.  .  .  . 
The  ISTazarenes  retired  from  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem  to  the 
little  town  of  Pella  beyond  the  Jordan,  where  that  an- 
cient church  languished  above  sixty  years  in  solitude  and 
obscurity. "  - 

It  is  not  strange  that  that  church  which  fled 
out  of  Judea  at  the  word  of  Christ^  should  long 
retain  the  Sabbath,  as  it  appears  that  they  did, 
even  as  late  as  the  fourth  century.  Morer  men- 
tions another  class  of  Sabbath-keepers  in  the  fol^ 
lowinor  lano^uaofe : — 

' '  About  the  same  time  were  the  Hypsistarii  who  closed 
with  these  as  to  what  concerned  the  Sabbath,  yet  would 
by  no  means  accept  circumcision  as  too  plain  a  testimony 
of  ancient  bondage.  All  these  were  heretics,  and  so  ad- 
judged to  be  by  the  Catholic  church.  Yet  their  hypoc- 
risy and  industry  were  such  as  gained  them  a  consider- 
able footing  in  the  Christian  world."  * 

The  bishop  of  Ely  names  these  also  as  a  body 
of  Sabbath-keepers  whose  heresy  was  condemned 

1  A  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day,  containing  a  "  Defense  of  the 
Orthodoxal  Doctrioe  of  the  Church  of  England  against  Sabbata- 
rian Xovehy,"  p.  S.  It  was  written  in  1635  at  the  command  of 
the  king  in  reply  to  Brabourne,  a  minister  of  the  established 
church,  whose  work,  entitled  "A  Defense  of  that  most  Ancient 
and  Sacred  Ordinance  of  God's,  the  Sabbath  Day,"  was  dedicated 
to  the  king  with  a  request  that  he  would  restore  the  Bible  Sab- 
bath !     See  the  preface  to  Dr.  White's  Treatise. 

2  Dec.  and  Fall,  chap.  xv.  3  See  chap.  x. 
^  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  67. 


340  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

by  the  church.^     The  learned  Joseph  Bingham, 
M.  A.,  cfives  the  foUowinor  account  of  them  : — 

' '  There  was  another  sect  which  called  themselves  Hyp- 
sistarians,  that  is,  worshipers  of  the  most  high  God,  whom 
they  worshiped  as  the  Jews  only  in  one  person.  And 
they  observed  their  Sabbaths  and  used  distinction  of 
meats,  clean  and  unclean,  though  they  did  not  regard 
circumcision,  as  Gregory  Nazianzen,  whose  father  was  once 
one  of  this  sect,  gives  the  account  of  them."- 

It  must  ever  be  remembered  that  these  people, 
whom  the  Catholic  church  adjudged  to  be  here- 
tics, are  not  speaking  for  themselves :  their  ene- 
mies who  condemned  them  have  transmitted  to 
posterity  all  that  is  known  of  their  history.  It 
would  be  well  if  heretics,  who  meet  with  little 
mercy  at  the  hand  of  ecclesiastical  writers,  could 
at  least  secure  the  impartial  justice  of  a  truthful 
record. 

Another  class  are  thus  described  by  Cox  in  his 
elaborate  work  entitled  "  Sabbath  Laws  and  Sab- 
bath Duties  ": — 

"In  this  way  [that  is,  by  presenting  the  testimony  of 
the  Bible  on  the  subject]  arose  the  ancient  Sabbatarians, 
a  body  it  is  well  knoA\^l  of  very  considerable  importance 
in  respect  both  to  numbers  and  influence,  during  the 
greater  j^art  of  the  third  and  the  early  part  of  the  next 
century."^ 

The  close  of  the  third  century  witnessed  the 
Sabbath  much  weakened  in  its  hold  upon  the 
church  in  general,  and  the  festival  of  Sunday,  al- 
though possessed  of  no  divine  authority,  steadily 
gaining  in  strength  and  in  sacredness.  The  fol- 
lowing historical  testimony  from  a  member  of  the 

1  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day,  p.  8. 

2  Antiquities  ofthe  Christian  Church,  book  xvi.  chap.  vi.  sect.  2. 
a  Paore  280.     Cox  here  quotes  the  work,  entitled  "  The  Modern 

Sabbath  Examined." 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  341 

English  Church,  Edward  Brerewood,  professor  in 
Gresham  College,  London,  gives  a  good  general 
view  of  the  matter,  though  the  author's  anti- 
Sabbatarian  views  are  mixed  with  it.    He  says : — 

^'  The  ancient  Sabbath  did  remain  and  was  observed  to- 
gether with  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  day  by  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  east  church  above  three  hundred  years  after 
our  Saviour's  death ;  and  besides  that,  no  other  day  for 
more  hundreds  of  years  than  I  spake  of  before,  Avas  known 
in  the  church  by  the  name  of  Sabbath  but  that :  let  the 
collection  thereof  and  conclusion  of  all  be  this  :  The  Sajb- 
bath  of  the  seventh  day  as  touching  the  alligations  of 
God's  solemn  worship  to  time  was  ceremonial ;  that  Sab- 
bath was  religiously  observed  in  the  east  church  three 
hundred  years  and  more  after  our  Saviour's  passion. 
That  church  being  the  great  part  of  Christendom,  and 
having  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  example  to  instruct 
them,  Avould  have  restrained  it  if  it  had  been  deadly. "  ^ 

Such  was  the  case  in  the  eastern  churches  at 
the  end  of  the  third  century ;  but  in  such  of  the 
western  churches  as  sympathized  with  the  church 
of  Rome,  the  Sabbath  had  been  treated  as  a  fast 
from  the  beginning  of  that  century,  to  express 
their  opposition  toward  those  who  observed  it  ac- 
cording to  the  commandment. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century  occurred 
an  event  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen,  but 
which  threw  an  immense  weight  in  favor  of  Sun- 
day into  the  balances  already  trembling  between 
the  rival  institutions,  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
and  the  festival  of  the  sun.  This  was  notliing 
less  than  an  edict  from  the  throne  of  the  Roman 
Empire  in  behalf  of  "the  venerable  day  of  tlie 
sun."  It  was  issued  by  the  emperor  Constantino 
in  A.  D.  321,  and  is  thus  expressed : — 


Learned  Treatise  oftlio  Sabbath,  p.  77,  Oxford,  1031. 


342  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

' '  Let  all  the  judges  and  town  people,  and  the  occupa- 
tion of  all  trades  rest  on  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun ; 
but  let  those  who  are  situated  in  the  country,  freely  and 
at  full  liberty  attend  to  the  business  of  agriculture  ;  be- 
cause it  often  happens  that  no  other  day  is  so  fit  for  sow- 
ing corn  and  planting  vines ;  lest,  the  critical  moment 
being  let  slip,  men  should  lose  the  commodities  granted 
by  Heaven.  Given  the  seventh  day  of  March ;  Crispus 
and  Constantine  being  consuls,  each  of  them  for  the  sec- 
ond time."^ 

Of  tills  law,  a  high  authority  thus  speaks : — 

''It  was  Constantine  the  Great  who  first  made  a  law  for 
the  proper  observance  of  Sunday  ;  and  who,  according  to 
Eusebius,  appointed  it  should  be  regularly  celebrated 
throughout  the  Roman  Empire.  Before  him,  and  even 
in  his  time,  they  observed  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  as  well  as 
Sunday ;  both  to  satisfy  the  law  of  Moses,  and  to  imitate 
the  apostles  who  used  to  meet  together  on  the  first  day. 
By  Constantine's  law,  promulgated  in  321,  it  was  decreed 
that  for  the  future  the  Sunday  should  be  kept  as  a  day  of 
rest  in  all  cities  and  towns ;  but  he  allowed  the  country 
people  to  follow  their  work."' 

Another  eminent  authority  thus  states  the  pur- 
port of  this  law  : — 

"  Constantine  the  Great  made  a  law  for  the  whole  em- 
pire (a.  D.  321)  that  Sunday  should  be  kept  as  a  day  of 
rest  in  all  cities  and  towns ;  but  he  allowed  the  country 
people  to  follow  their  work  on  that  day."'^ 

iThis  edict  is  the  original  fountain  of  first-day  authority,  and  in 
many  respects  answers  to  the  festival  of  Sunday,  what  the  fourth 
coraraandment  is  to  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  The  original  of 
this  edict  may  be  seen  in  the  library  of  Harvard  College,  and  is 
as  follows: — 

IMP.  CONSTANT.  A.  ELPIDIO. 

Omnes  Judices,  urbanseque  plebes,  et  cunctarum  artium  officia 
venerabili  die  solis  quiescant.  Ruri  tamen  positi  agrorum  cul- 
turse  libere  licenterque  inserviant  :  quoniam  frequenter  evenit, 
ut  non  aptius  alio  die  frumenta  sulcis,  aut  vinea?  scrobibus  man- 
dentur,  ne  occasione  momenti  pereat  commoditas  coelesti  provis- 
ione  concessa.  Dat.  Nonis  Mart.  Crispo.  2  &  Constantino  2.  Coss. 
321.  Corpus  Juris  Civilis  Codicis  lib.  iii  tit.  12.  3. 

'•' Encyc.  Brit.  art.  Sunda}',  seventh  edition,  1842. 

*  Encyc.  Am.  art.  Sabbath. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  3-43 

Thus  the  fact  is  ]Jaced  beyond  all  dispute  that 
this  decree  gave  full  permission  to  all  kinds  of 
agricultural  labor.  The  following  testimony  of 
Mosheim  is  therefore  worthy  of  strict  attention: — 

' '  The  first  day  of  the  week,  -which  was  the  ordinary 
and  stated  time  for  the  public  assemblies  of  the  Chris- 
tians, was  in  consequence  of  a  f>eculiar  law  enacted  by 
Constantine,  observed  with  greater  solemnity  than  it  had 
formerly  been."^ 

What  will  the  advocates  of  hrst-day  sacredness 
say  to  this  ?  They  quote  Mosheim  respecting 
Sunday  observance  in  the  first  century — which 
testimony  has  been  carefully  examined  in  this 
work^ — and  they  seem  to  think  that  his  language 
in  support  of  first-day  sacredness  is  nearly  equal 
in  authority  to  the  language  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment; in  fact,  they  regard  it  as  supplying  an 
important  omission  in  that  book.  Yet  Mosheim 
states  respecting  Constantine's  Sunday  law,  pro- 
mulgated in  the  fourth  century,  which  restrained 
merchants  and  mechanics,  but  allowed  all  kinds 
of  agiicultural  labor  on  that  day,  that  it  caused 
the  day  to  be  "  observed  with  greater  solemnity 
than  it  had  formerly  been."  It  follows,  therefore, 
on  Mosheim's  own  showing,  that  Sunday,  during 
the  first  three  centuries,  was  not  a  day  of  absti- 
nence from  labor  in  the  Christian  church.  On 
this  point.  Bishop  Taylor  thus  testifies  : — 

"  The  primitive  Christians  did  all  manner  of  works  upon 
the  Lord's  day,  even  in  the  times  of  persecution,  when 
they  are  the  strictest  observers  of  all  the  divine  com- 
mandments ;  but  in  this  they  knew  there  was  none ;  and 
therefore  when  Constantine  the  emperor  had  made  an 
edict  against  working  upon  the  Lord's  day,  yet  he  ex- 
ceiDts  and  still  permitted  all  agriculture  or  labors  of  the 
husbandman  whatsoever."^ 

1  Eccl.  Hist.  cent.  iv.  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sect.  5.        2  Chap.  xiv. 
•''  Duct.  Dubitant.  part  i.  book  ii.  chap.  ii.  rule  6,  sect.  59. 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Morer  tells  us  respecting  the  first  three  centu- 
ries, that  is  to  say,  the  period  before  Constantine, 
that 

' '  The  Lord's  day  had  no  command  that  it  should  be 
sanctified,  but  it  was  left  to  God's  people  to  pitch  on  this 
or  that  day  for  the  public  worship.  And  being  taken  up 
and  made  a  day  of  meeting  for  religious  exercises,  yet  for 
three  hundred  years  there  was  no  law  to  bind  them  to  it, 
and  for  want  of  such  a  law,  the  day  was  not  wholly  kept 
in  abstaining  from  common  business ;  nor  did  they  any 
longer  rest  from  their  ordinary  affairs  (such  was  the 
necessity  of  those  times)  than  during  the  divine  service."^ 

And  Sir  Wm.  Domville  says  : — 

"  Centuries  of  the  Christian  era  passed  away  before  the 
Sunday  was  observed  by  the  Christian  church  as  a  Sab- 
bath. History  does  not  furnish  us  with  a  single  proof  or 
indication  that  it  was  at  any  time  so  observed  previous  to 
the  Sabbatical  edict  of  Constantine  in  a.  d.  321."^ 

What  these  able  modern  writers  set  forth  as  to 
labor  on  Sunday  before  the  edict  of  Constantine 
was  promulgated,  we  have  fully  proved  in  the 
preceding  chapters  out  of  the  most  ancient  eccle- 
siastical writers.  That  sucli  an  edict  could  not 
fail  to  strengthen  the  current  already  strongly 
set  in  favor  of  Sunday,  and  greatly  to  weaken 
the  influence  of  the  Sabbath,  cannot  be  doubted. 
Of  this  fact,  an  able  writer  bears  witness : — 

"  Very  shortly  after  the  period  when  Constantino  is- 
sued his  edict  enjoining  the  general  observance  of  Sun- 
day throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  the  party  that  had 
contended  for  the  observance  of  the  seventh  day  dwin- 
dled into  insignificance.  The  observance  of  Sunday  as  a 
j)ublic  festival,  during  which  all  business,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  rural  employments,  was  intermitted,  came  to  be 
more  and  more  generally  established  ever  after  this  time, 
tlu-oughout   both    the   Greek   and   the   Latin   churches. 

1  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Tis\\,  p.  23?.. 
sExaminuiiou  ol'the  Six  Texts,  p.  'J91. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  345 

There  is  no  evidence  however  that  either  at  this,  or  at  a 
period  much  later,  the  observance  was  viewed  as  deriving 
any  obligation  from  the  fourth  commandment ;  it  seems 
to  have  been  regarded  as  an  institution  corresponding  in 
nature  with  Christmas,  Good  Friday,  and  other  festivals 
of  the  church  ;  and  as  resting  with  them  on  the  ground 
6i  ecclesiastical  authority  and  tradition."^ 

Tliis  extiaordinaiy  edict  of  Constantinc  caused 
Sunday  to  be  observed  with  greater  solemnity 
than  it  had  formerly  been.  Yet  we  have  the 
most  indubitable  proof  that  this  law  was  a  hea- 
then enactment ;  that  it  was  put  forth  in  favor 
of  Sunday  as  a  heathen  institution  and  not  as  a 
Christian  festival ;  and  that  Constantine  himself 
not  only  did  not  possess  the  character  of  a  Chris- 
tian, but  was  at  that  time  in  truth  a  heathen. 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  Constantine  did  not  des- 
ignate the  day  which  he  commanded  men  to 
keep,  as  Lord's  day.  Christian  Sabbath,  or  the 
day  of  Chi-ist's  resurrection;  nor  does  he  assign 
any  reason  for  its  observance  which  would  indi- 
cate it  as  a  Christian  festival.  On  the  contrary, 
he  designates  the  ancient  heathen  festiva,!  of  the 
sun  in  lancruaore  that  cannot  be  mistaken.  Dr. 
Hessey  thus  sustams  this  statement : — 

'^Others  have  looked  at  the  transaction  in  a  totally 
different  light,  and  refused  to  discover  in  the  document, 
or  to  suppose  in  the  mind  of  the  enactor,  any  recognition 
of  the  Lord's  day  as  a  matter  of  divine  obligation.  They 
remark,  and  very  truly,  that  Constantine  designates  it  by 
its  astrological  or  heathen  title,  Dies  Solis,  and  insist  that 
the  epithet  venerahilis  with  v/hich  it  is  introduced  has  ref- 
erence to  the  rites  performed  on  that  day  in  honor  of 
Hercides,   Apollo,  and  Mithras." " 

1  Cox's  Sabbath  Laws,  &c.  pp.  2S0,  281.  He  quotes  The  Mod- 
ern Sabbath  Examined. 

^Hessey's  Barapton  Lecture?,  p.   G'!>. 
gabbath  Hlst^rv.  133 


340  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

On  this  important  point,  Milman,  the  learned 
editor  of  Gibbon,  thus  testifies : — 

"  The  rescript  commanding  the  celebration  of  the 
Christian  Sabbath,  bears  no  allusion  to  its  peculiar  sanc- 
tity as  a  Christian  institution.  It  is  the  day  of  the  sun 
which  is  to  be  observed  by  the  general  veneration  ;  the 
courts  were  to  be  closed,  and  the  noise  and  tumult  of 
public  business  and  legal  litigation  were  no  longer  to  vi- 
olate the  repose  of  the  sacred  day.  But  the  believer  in 
the  new  iDaganism,  of  which  the  solar  worship  was  the 
characteristic,  might  acquiesce  without  scruple  in  the 
sanctity  of  the  first  day  of  the  week." ^ 

And  he  adds  in  a  subsequent  chapter : — 

''  In  fact,  as  we  have  before  observed,  the  day  of  the 
sun  would  be  willingly  hallowed  by  almost  all  the  pagan 
world,  especially  that  part  which  had  admitted  any  ten- 
dency towards  the  Oriental  theology."^ 

On  the  seventh  day  of  March,  Constantine 
published  his  edict  commanding  the  observance 
of  that  ancient  festival  of  the  heathen,  the  ven- 
erable day  of  the  sun.  On  the  following  day, 
March  eighth,^  he  issued  a  second  decree  in  every 
respect  worthy  of  its  heathen  predecessor.^  The 
purport  of  it  was  this  :  That  if  any  royal  edifice 

1  History  of  Christianity,  book  iii.  chap.  i. 

2  Id.  book  iii.  chap.  iv. 

'These  dates  are  worthy  of  marked  attention.  See  Blair's 
Chronological  Tables,  p.  193,  ed.  1S5G  ;  Rosse's  Index  of  Dates, 
p.  830. 

'^ Imp.  Constantinvs  A.  Ad  Jtfaximvm.     Si  quid  de  Palatio  Nos- 
tro,  aut  ceteris  operibus  publicis,  degustatum  fulgore  esse  con- 
Rtitorit,  retento  more  veteris  observantiae.     Quid  portendat,  ob 
Haruspicibus  requiratur,  et  diligentissime  scriptura  coUecta  ad 
Nostram  Scientiam  referatur.     Ceteris  etiam  usurpandae  huius 
consuetudinis  licentia  tribuenda  :  dummodo  sacrihciis  domesticis 
abstineant,  quae  specialitcr  prohibita  sunt.     Earn  autem  denun 
ciationcm  adque  interpretationem,  quae  de  tactu   Amphitheatri 
scriba  est,  de  qua  ad  Ileraclianum  Tribunum,  et  Magistrum  Offic 
iorum   scripseras,  ad  nos  scias  esse  perlatum.     Dat.    xvi.    Kal 
Jan.  Serdicae  Ace.  viii.  Id.  Mart.  Crispo  ii,  &  Constantino  ii.     C, 
C.    Coss.  321.  Cod.  Theodos.  xvi.  10,  1.— Library  of  Ilarrard 
College. 


FIRST    FIA'E    CENTURIES.  347 

should  be  struck  by  lightning,  the  ancient  cere- 
monies of  propitiating  the  deity  should  be  prac- 
ticed, and  the  haruspices  were  to  be  consulted  to 
learn  the  meaning  of  the  awful  portent.^  The 
haruspices  were  soothsayers  who  foretold  future 
events  by  examining  the  entrails  of  beasts 
slaucrhtered  in  sacrifice  to  the  gods!^  The  stat- 
ute  of  the  seventh  of  March  enjoining  the  ob- 
servance of  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun,  and 
that  of  the  eighth  of  the  same  month  command- 
ing the  consultation  of  the  haruspices,  constitute 
a  noble  pair  of  well-matched  heathen  edicts. 
That  Constantine  himself  was  a  heathen  at  the 
time  these  edicts  were  issued,  is  shown  not  only 
by  the  nature  of  the  edicts  themselves,  but  by 
the  fact  that  his  nominal  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity is  placed  by  Mosheim  two  years  after  his 
Sunday  lav/.     Thus  he  saj^s  : — 

"After  well  considering  the  subject,  I  have  come  to 
the  conclusion,  that  subsequently  to  the  death  of  Licinius 
in  the  year  323  when  Constantine  found  himself  sole  em- 
peror, he  became  an  absolute  Cliristian,  or  one  who  believes 
no  religion  but  the  Christian  to  be  acceptable  to  God. 
He  had  previously  considered  the  religion  of  one  God  as 
more  excellent  than  the  other  religions,  and  believed  that 
Christ  ought  especially  to  be  worshiped  :  yet  he  supposed 
there  were  also  inferior  deities,  and  that  to  these  some 
worship  might  be  paid,  in  the  manner  of  the  fathers,  with- 
out fault  or  sin.  And  who  does  not  know,  that  in  those 
times,  many  others  also  combined  the  worship  of  Christ 
with  that  of  the  ancient  gods,  whom  they  regarded  as  the 
ministers  of  the  supreme  God  in  the  government  of  hu- 
man and  earthly  affairs. "  ^ 

As  a  heathen,  Constantine  was  the  worshiper 

1  See  Jortin's  Eccl.  Hist,  vol.  1.  sect.  31  ;  Milman's  Hist. 
Christianity,  book  iii.  chap.  i. 

"See  Webster  ;  for  an  ancient  record  of  the  act,  see  Eze.  xxi. 
18-22.  3  Historical  Commentaries,   cent.  iv.  sect.  7. 


348  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

of  Apollo  or  the  sun,  a  fact  that  sheds  much  light 
upon  his  edict  enjoining  men  to  observe  the  ven- 
erable day  of  the  sun.     Thus  Gibbon  testifies : — 

'^The  devotion  of  Constantine  was  more  peculiarly  di- 
rected to  the  genius  of  the  sun,  the  Apollo  of  Greek  and 
Roman  mythology ;  and  he  was  pleased  to  be  represented 
with  the  symbols  of  the  god  of  light  and  poetry.  .  .  , 
The  altars  of  Apollo  were  crowned  with  the  votive  offer- 
ings of  Constantine ;  and  the  credulous  multitude  were 
taught  to  believe  that  the  emperor  was  permitted  to  be- 
hold with  mortal  eyes  the  visible  majesty  of  their  tutelar 
deity.  .  .  .  The  sun  was  univ^ersally  celebrated  as  the 
invincible  guide  and  protector  of  Constantine."^ 

His  character  as  a  professor  of  Christianity  is 
thus  described : — 

''The  sincerity  of  the  man,  vrho  in  a  short  period  ef- 
fected such  amazing  changes  in  the  religious  world,  is  best 
known  to  Him  who  searches  the  heart.  Certain  it  is  that 
his  subsequent  life  furnished  no  evidence  of  conversion  to 
God.  He  waded  without  remorse  through  seas  of  blood, 
and  was  a  most  tyrannical  prince.  "' 

A  few  words  relative  to  his  character  as  a  man 
will  complete  our  view  of  his  fitness  to  legislate 
for  the  church.  This  man,  when  elevated  to  the 
highest  place  of  earthly  power,  caused  his  eldest 
son,  Crispus,  to  be  privately  murdered,  lest  the 
fame  of  the  son  should  eclipse  that  of  the  father. 
In  the  same  ruin  was  involved  his  nephew  Li- 
cinius,  "  whose  rank  was  his  only  crime,"  and  this 
was  followed  by  the  execution  "perhaps  of  a 
guilty  wife."^ 

Such  was  the  man  who  elevated  Sunday  to  the 
throne  of  the  Roman  Empire ;  and  such  the 
nature  of  the  institution  which  he  thus  elevated. 


>  Dec.  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chap.  xx. 

2. Marsh's  Eccl.  Hist,  period  iii.  chap.  v. 

«  Dec.  and  FaII  of  the  R->man  Empire,  chap,  xviii. 


FIRST    FIVE    C'EXTURIES.  349 

A  recent  English  writer  says  of  Constantine's 
Sunday  law  that  it  "  would  seem  to  have  been 
rather  to  promote  heathen  than  Christian  wor- 
ship." And  he  shows  how  this  heathen  emperor 
became  a  Christian,  and  hov/  this  heathen  statute 
became  a  Christian  law.     Thus  he  says  : — 

"  At  a  LATER  PERIOD,  Carried  a-u^ay  by  the  current  of 
opinion,  he  declared  himseK  a  convert  to  the  church. 
Christianity,  then,  or  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  by  that 
name,  became  the  law  of  the  land,  and  the  edict  of  a.  d. 
321,  being  unrevoked,  was  enforced  as  a  Christian  ordi- 
nance."^ 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  a  law,  enacted  in  support 
of  a  heathen  institution,  after  a  few  years  came 
to  be  considered  a  Christian  ordinance  ;  and  Con- 
stantino himself,  four  years  after  his  Sunday 
edict,  was  able  to  control  the  church,  as  repre- 
sented in  the  general  council  of  Nice,  so  as  to 
cause  the  members  of  that  council  to  establish 
their  annual  festival  of  the  passover  upon  Sun- 
day.^ Paganism  had  prepared  the  institution 
from  ancient  days,  and  had  now  elevated  it  to 
supreme  power ;  its  work  was  accomplished. 

We  have  proved  that  the  Sunday  festival  in 
the  Christian  church  had  no  Sabbatical  character 
before  the  time  of  Constantine.  We  have  also 
shown  that  heathenism,  in  the  pei'son  of  Con- 
stantine, first  gave  to  Sunday  its  Sabbatical 
character,  and,  in  the  very  act  of  doing  it,  desig- 
nated it  as  a  heathen,  and  not  as  a  Christian,  fes- 
tival, thus  establishing  a  heathen  Sabbath.  It  was 
now  the  part  of  popery  authoritatively  to  effect 
its  transformation  into  a  Christian  institution ;  a 
work  whi^h  it  was  not  slow  to  perform.     Sylves- 

1  Sunday  and  the  Mosaic  Sabbath,  p.  4,  published  bv  R.  Groom- 
bridge  &  Sons,  London.  2  gge  chap,  xviii. 


350  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ter  was  the  bishop  of  Rome  while  Constantine 
was  emperor.  How  faithfully  he  acted  his  part 
in  transforming  the  festival  of  the  sun  into  a 
Christian  institution  is  seen  in  that,  by  his  apos- 
tolic authority,  he  changed  the  name  of  the  day, 
giving  it  the  imposing  title  of  Lord's  day.^  To 
Constantine  and  to  Sylvester,  therefore,  the  ad- 
vocates of  first-day  observance  are  greatly  in- 
debted. The  one  elevated  it  as  a  heathen  festi- 
val to  the  throne  of  the  empire,  making  it  a  day 
of  rest  from  most  kinds  of  business ;  the  other 
changed  it  into  a  Christian  institution,  giving  it 
the  dignified  appellation  of  Lord's  day.  It  is  not 
a  sufficient  reason  for  denying  that  Pope  Sylves- 
ter, not  far  from  A.  D.  325,  authoritatively  con- 
ferred on  Sunday  the  name  of  Lord's  day,  to  say 
that  one  of  the  fathers,  as  early  as  A.  D.  200,  calls 
the  day  by  that  name,  and  that  some  seven  dif- 
ferent writers,  between  A.  D.  200  and  A.  D.  325, 
viz.,  Tertullian,  Origen,  Cyprian,  Anatolius,  Com- 
modianus,  Victorinus,  and  Peter  of  Alexandria, 
can  be  adduced,  who  give  this  name  to  Sunday. 
No  one  of  these  fathers  ever  claims  for  this  title 
any  apostolic  authority ;  and  it  has  been  already 
shown  that  they  could  not  have  believed  the 
day  to  be  the  Lord's  day  by  divine  appointment. 
So  far,  therefore,  is  the  use  of  this  term  by  these 
persons  as  a  name  for  Sunday  from  conflicting 
with  the  statement  that  Sylvester,  by  his  apos- 

1  Omnium  vero  dierum  per  septimanam  appellationes  (ut  Solis, 
Lunae,  Martis,  etc.),  mutasse  in  ferias  :  ut  Polydorus  (li.  6,  c.  5) 
indicat.  Mataphrastes  vero,  nomina  dierum  Hebraeis  usitata 
retinuisse  eum,  tradit ;  solius  phimi  diei  appellatioxe  mutata, 
QUEM  DoMiN'icuM  DIXIT.  Historia  Ecclesiastica  per  M.  Ludovicum 
Lucium,  cent.  iv.  cap.  x.  pp.  739,  740,  Ed.  Basilea,  1024.  Library 
of  Andover  Theological  Stminary.  The  Ecclesiastical  History  of 
Lucius  is  simply  the  second  edition  of  the  famous  "Magdeburg 
Centuries,"  which  was  published  under  his  supervision. 


FIRST    FIVE   CENTURIES.  351 

tolic  authority,  established  this  name  as  the 
rightful  title  of  that  day,  that  it  shows  the  act 
of  Sylvester  to  be  exactly  suited  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  Indeed,  Nicephorus  asserts 
that  Constantine,  who  considered  himself  quite  as 
much  the  head  of  the  church  as  was  the  pope, 
"  directed  that  the  day  which  the  Jews  consid- 
ered the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  which  the 
Greeks  dedicated  to  the  sun,  should  be  called  the 
Lord's  day."^  The  circumstances  of  the  case  ren- 
der the  statements  of  Lucius  and  Nicephorus  in 
the  highest  degree  probable.  They  certainly  do 
not  indicate  that  the  pope  would  deem  such  act 
on  his  part  unnecessary.  Take  a  recent  event 
in  papal  history  as  an  illustration  of  this  case. 
Only  a  few  years  since,  Pius  IX.  decreed  that  the 
virgin  Mary  was  born  without  sin.  This  had 
long  been  asserted  by  many  distinguished  writ- 
ers in  the  papal  church,  but  it  lacked  authority 
as  a  dogma  of  that  church  until  the  pope,  A.  D. 
1854,  gave  it  his  official  sanction.^  It  was  the 
work  of  Constantine  and  of  Sylvester  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fourth  century  to  establish  the 
festival  of  the  sun,  to  be  a  day  of  rest,  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  empire,  and  to  render  it  a  Chris- 
tian institution  by  the  authority  of  St.  Peter. 

The  following  from  Dr.  Heylyn,  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  Church  cf  England,  is  worthy  of 
particular  attention.  In  most  forcible  language, 
he  traces  the  steps  by  which  the  Sunday  festival 
arose  to  power,  contrasting  it  in  this  respect  with 
the  ancient  Sabbath  of  the  Lord ;  and  then,  with 
equal  truth  and  candor,  he  acknowledges  that,  as 

1  Quoted  in  Elliott's  Horse  Apocalypticae,  fifth  edition,  vol.  iv. 
p.  603.     • 
'  McGIintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol,  iv.  p.  500. 


352  IlTSTOllY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  festival  of  Sunday  was  set  up  by  the  emperor 
and  the  church,  the  same  power  can  take  it  down 
whenever  it  sees  lit.     Thus  he  says  : — 

' '  Thus  do  we  see  upon  what  grounds  the  Lord's  day- 
stands  ;  ON  CUSTOM  FIRST,  and  voluntary  consecration 
of  it  to  religious  meetings ;  that  custom  countenanced  by 
the  authority  of  the  church  of  God,  which  tacitly  ap- 
proved the  same ;  and  finally  confirmed  and  ratified 
BY  Christian  princes  throughout  their  empires.  And 
as  the  day  for  rest  from  labors  and  restraint  from  busi- 
ness upon  that  day,  [it]  received  its  greatest  strength 
from  the  supreme  magistrate  as  long  as  he  retained  that 
X^ov.-er  which  to  liim  belongs ;  as  after  from  the  canons 
and  decrees  of  councils,  the  decretals  of  popes  and  orders 
of  particular  prelates,  when  the  sole  managing  of  ecclesi- 
astical affairs  was  committed  to  them, 

"  I  hope  it  was  not  so  with  the  former  Sabbath,  which 
neither  took  original  from  custom,  that  people  being  not 
so  forward  to  give  God  a  day ;  nor  required  any  coun- 
tenance or  authority  from  the  kings  of  Israel  to  confirm 
and  ratify  it.  The  Lord  had  spoke  the  word,  that  he 
would  have  one  day  in  seven,  precisely  the  seventh  day 
from  the  world's  creation,  to  be  a  day  of  rest  unto  all  his 
people ;  wliich  said,  there  was  no  more  to  do  but  gladly 
to  submit  and  obey  his  pleasure.  .  .  .  But  thus  it 
Avas  not  done  in  our  present  business.  The  Lord's  day 
had  no  such  command  that  it  should  be  sanctified,  but 
was  left  plainly  to  God's  people  to  pitch  on  this,  or  any 
other,  for  the  public  use.  And  being  taken  up  amongst 
them  and  made  a  day  of  meeting  in  the  congregation  for 
religious  exercises ;  yet  for  three  hundred  years  there  was 
neither  law  to  bind  them  to  it,  nor  any  rest  from  labor  or 
from  worldly  business  required  upon  it. 

' '  And  when  it  seemed  good  unto  Christian  princes,  the 
nursing  fathers  of  God's  church,  to  lay  restraints  upon 
their  people,  yet  at  the  first  they  were  not  general ;  but 
only  thus  that  certain  men  in  certain  places  should  lay 
aside  their  ordinary  and  daily  works,  to  attend  God's  ser- 
vice in  the  church ;  those  whose  employments  were  most 
toilsome  and  most  repugnant  to  the  true  nature  of  a  Sab- 
bath, being  alloAved  to  follow  and  pursue  their  labors  be- 
cause most  necessary  to  the  commonwealth. 

''And  in  the  following  times,  when  as  the  prince  and 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  353 

prelate,  in  tlieir  several  places  endeavored  to  restrain 
tliem  from  that  also,  which  formerly  they  had  permitted,, 
and  interdicted  almost  all  kinds  of  bodily  labor  upon  that 
day ;  it  was  not  brought  about  without  much  struggling 
and  an  opposition  of  the  people ;  more  than  a  thousand 
years  being  past,  after  Christ's  ascension,  before  the 
Lord's  day  had  attained  that  state  in  which  now  it  stand- 
eth.  .  .  .  And  being  brought  into  that  state,  wherein 
now  it  stands,  it  doth  not  stand  so  firmly  and  on  such 
sure  grounds,  but  that  those  powers  which  raised  it  up 
may  take  it  lower  if  they  please,  yea  take  it  quite  away 
as  unto  the  time,  and  settle  it  on  any  other  day  as  to 
them  seems  best."^ 

Constantine's  edict  marks  a  signal  change  in 
the  history  of  the  Sunday  festival  Dr.  Heylyn 
thus  testifies : — 

"Hitherto  have  we  spoken  of  the  Lord's  day  as  taken 
up  by  the  common  consent  of  the  church ;  not  instituted 
or  established  by  any  text  of  Scripture,  or  edict  of  empe- 
ror, or  decree  of  council.  ...  In  that  which  folio  w- 
eth,  we  shall  find  both  emperors  and  councils  very  fre- 
quent in  ordering  things  about  this  day  and  the  service 
of  it."- 

After  his  professed  conversion  to  Christianity, 
Constantine  still  further  exerted  his  power  in  be- 
half of  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun,  now  hap- 
pily transformed  into  the  Lord's  day,  by  the 
apostolic  authority  of  the  Roman  bishop.  Hey- 
lyn thus  testifies : — 

''  So  natural  a  power  it  is  in  a  Christian  prince  to  or- 
der things  about  religion,  that  he  not  only  took  upon  him 
to  command  the  day,  but  also  to  prescribe  the  service."^ 

The  influence  «f  Constantine  powerfully  con- 
tributed to  the  aid  of  those  church  leaders  who 
were  intent  upon  bringing  the  forms  of  pagan 


1  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  iii.  sect.  12. 

2  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  iii.  sect.  1. 


3  Id.  lb. 


354  HISTORY    OF   THE   SABBATH. 

worship  into  the  Christian  church.  Gibbon  thus 
places  upon  record  the  motives  of  these  men,  and 
the  result  of  their  action : — 

''The  most  respectable  bishops  had  persuaded  them- 
selves that  the  ignorant  rustics  would  more  cheerfully  re- 
nounce the  superstition  of  paganism,  if  they  found  some 
resemblance,  some  compensation,  in  the  bosom  of  Chris- 
tianit3^  The  religion  of  Constantine  achieved  in  less 
than  a  century,  the  final  conquest  of  the  Roman  Empire : 
but  the  victors  themselves  were  insensibly  subdued  by  the 
arts  of  their  vanquished  rivals."^ 

The  body  of  nominal  Christians,  which  resulted 
from  this  strange  union  of  pagan  rites  with 
Christian  worship,  arrogated  to  itself  the  title  of 
Catholic  church,  while  the  true  people  of  God, 
who  resisted  these  dangerous  innovations,  were 
branded  as  heretics,  and  cast  out  of  the  church. 
It  is  not  strange  that  the  Sabbath  should  lose 
ground  in  such  a  body,  in  its  struggle  with  its 
rival,  the  festival  of  the  sun.  Indeed,  after  a 
brief  period,  the  history  of  the  Sabbath  will  be 
found  only  in  the  almost  obliterated  records  of 
those  whom  the  Catholic  church  cast  out  and 
stigmatized  as  heretics.  Of  the  Sabbath  in  Con- 
stantine's  time,  Heylyn  says  : — 

"As  for  the  Saturday,  that  retained  its  wonted  credit 
in  the  eastern  churches,  little  inferior  to  the  Lord's  day, 
if  not  plainly  equal ;  not  as  a  Sabbath,  think  not  so ;  but 
as  a  day  designed  unto  sacred  meetings."" 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  after  the  great  flood  of 
worldliness  which  entered  the  church  at  the  time 
of  Constantine's  pretended  conversion,  and  after 
all  that  was  done  by  himself  and  by  Sylvester  in 
behalf  of  Sunday,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath 

>  Dec.  and  Fall,  chap,  xxviii. 

'■'  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  iii.  sect.  5. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  355 

became,  with  many,  only  a  nominal  thing.  But 
the  action  of  the  council  of  Laodicea,  to  which 
we  shall  presently  come,  proves  conclusively  that 
the  Sabbath  was  still  observed,  not  simply  as  a 
festival,  as  Heylyn  would  have  it,  but  as  a  day 
of  abstinence  from  labor,  as  enjoined  in  the  com- 
mandment. The  work  of  Constantine,  however, 
marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Sabbath 
and  of  Sunday.  Constantine  was  hostile  to  the 
Sabbath,  and  his  influence  told  powerfully  against 
it  with  all  those  who  sought  worldly  advance- 
ment. The  historian  Eusebius  was  the  special 
friend  and  eulogist  of  Constantine.  This  fact 
should  not  be  overlooked  in  weighing  his  testi- 
mony concerning  the  Sabbath.  He  speaks  of  it 
as  follows : — 

"  They  [the  patriarchs]  did  not,  therefore,  regard  cir- 
cumcision,  nor  observe  the  Sabbath,  nor  do  we ;  neither 
do  we  abstain  from  certain  foods,  nor  regard  other  injunc- 
tions, which  Moses  subsequently  delivered  to  be  observed 
in  types  and  symbols,  because  such  things  as  these  do  not 
belong  to  Christians."^ 

This  testimony  shows  precisely  the  views  of 
Constantine  and  the  imperial  party  relative  to 
the  Sabbath.  But  it  does  not  give  the  views  of 
Christians  as  a  whole ;  for  we  have  seen  that  the 
Sabbath  had  been  extensively  retained  up  to  this 
point,  and  we  shall  .soon  have  occasion  to  quote 
other  historians,  the  cotemporaries  and  successors 
of  Eusebius,  who  record  its  continued  observance. 
Constantine  exerted  a  controlling  influence  in 
the  church,  and  was  determined  to  "  have  noth- 
ing in  common  with  that  most  hostile  rabble  of 
the  Jews."     Happy  would  it  have  been  had  his 

1  Eccl.  Hist,  book  i.  chap.  iv. 


o5G  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABEATH. 

aversion  been  directed  against  the  festivals  of  the 
heathen  i-ather  than  against  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord. 

Before  Constantine's  time,  there  is  no  trace  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  change  of  the  Sabbath.  On 
the  contrary,  we  haA^e  decisive  evidence  that 
Sunday  was  a  day  on  which  ordinary  labor  was 
considered  lawful  and  proper.  But  Constantine, 
while  yet  a  heathen,  commanded  that  every  kind 
of  business  excepting  agriculture  should  be  laid 
aside  on  that  day.  His  law  designated  the  day  as 
a  heathen  festival,  which  it  actually  v,^as.  But 
within  four  years  after  its  enactment,  Constan- 
tine had  become,  not  merely  a  professed  convert 
to  the  Christian  religion,  but,  in  many  respects, 
practically  the  head  of  the  church,  as  the  course 
of  things  at  the  council  of  Nice  plainly  showed. 
His  heathen  Sunday  law,  being  unrevoked,  was 
thenceforward  enforced  in  behalf  of  that  day  as 
a  Christian  festival.  This  law  gave  to  the  Sun- 
day festival,  for  the  first  time,  something  of  a 
Sabbatic  character.  It  was  now  a  rest-day  from 
most  kinds  of  business  by  the  law  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  God's  rest-day  was  thenceforward  more 
in  the  way  than  ever  before. 

But  now  we  come  to  a  fact  of  remarkable  in- 
terest. The  way  having  been  prepared,  as  we 
have  just  seen,  for  the  doctrine  of  the  change  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
demanding  its  production,  it  was  at  this  very 
point  brought  forward  for  the  first  time.  Euse- 
bius,  the  special  friend  and  flatterer  of  Constan- 
tine, was  the  man  who  first  put  forth  this  doctrine. 
In  his  "  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,"  he  makes 
the  following  statement  on  Psalm  xcii.  respect- 
ing the  change  of  the  Sabbath  : — 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  357 

''  Wherefore  as  they  [the  Jews]  rejected  it  [the  Sab- 
bath law]  the  Word  [Christ],  by  the  new  covenant,  trans- 
lated and  TRANSFERRED  the  feast  of  the  Sabbath  to  the 
morning  light,  and  gave  us  the  symbol  of  true  rest,  viz., 
the  saving  Lord's  day,  the  first  [day]  of  the  light,  in 
which  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  after  all  his  labors  among 
men,  obtained  the  victory  over  death,  and  passed  the 
portals  of  Heaven,  having  achieved  a  Avork  sux>erior  to 
the  six-days'  creation."^ 

' '  On  this  day,  which  is  the  first  [day]  of  light  and  of 
the  true  Sun,  we  assemble,  after  an  interval  of  six  days, 
and  celebrate  holy  and  spiritual  Sabbaths,  even  all  na- 
tions redeemed  by  him  throughout  the  world,  and  do 
those  things  according  to  the  spiritual  law,  which  were 
decreed  for  the  priests  to  do  on  the  Sabbath."" 

' '  And  all  things  whatsoever  that  it  was  duty  to  do  on 
the  Sabbath,  these  we  have  transferred  to  the  Lord's  day, 
as  more  appropriately  belonging  to  it,  because  it  has  a 
precedence  and  is  first  in  ra,nk,  and  more  honorable  than 
the  Jewish  Sabbath."^ 

Eusebius  was  under  the  strongest  temptation 
to  please  and  even  to  flatter  Constantine ;  for  he 
lived  in  the  sunshine  of  imperial  favor.  On  one 
occasion,  he  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  city  of 
Jerusalem,  which  Constantine  had  rebuilt,  might 
be  the  New  Jerusalem  predicted  in  the  prophe- 
cies !^  But  perhaps  there  Vv^as  no  act  of  Eusebius 
that  could  give  Constantine  greater  pleasure  than 
his  publication  of  such  doctrine  as  this  respecting 
the  change  of  the  Sabbath.  The  emperor  had, 
by  the  civil  law,  given  to  Sunday  a  Sabbatical 
character.  Though  he  had  done  this  while  yet  a 
heathen,  he  found  it  to  his  interest  to  maintain 
this  law  after  he  obtained  a  commanding  position 

1  Eusebius'  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  quoted  in  Cox's  Sab- 
bath Literature,  vol.  1.  p.'sSl  ;  also  in  Justin  Edward's  Sabbath 
Manual,  pp.  125-127.  2  id.  lb.  Hd.  lb. 

^  Eusebius'  Life  of  Constantine,  3,  33,  quoted  in  Elliott's  Ilorai 
Apocalypticye,  vol.  i.  p.  256. 


358  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

in  the  Catholic  church.  When,  therefore,  Euse- 
bius  came  out  and  declared  that  Christ  trans- 
ferred the  Sabbath  to  Sunday,  a  doctrine  never 
before  heard  of,  and  in  support  of  which  he  had 
no  Scripture  to  quote,  Constantine  could  not  but 
feel  in  the  highest  degree  flattered  that  his  own 
Sabbatical  edict  pertained  to  the  very  day  which 
Christ  had  ordained  to  be  the  Sabbath  in  place 
of  the  seventh.  It  was  a  convincing  proof  that 
Constantine  was  divinely  called  to  his  high  posi- 
tion in  the  Catholic  church,  that  he  should  thus 
exactly  identify  his  work  with  that  of  Christ, 
though  he  had  no  knowledge  at  the  time  that 
Christ  had  done  any  work  of  the  kind. 

As  no  writer  before  Eusebius  had  ever  hinted 
at  the  doctrine  of  the  change  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
as  there  is  the  most  convincing  proof,  as  we  have 
shown,  that  before  his  time  Sunday  possessed  no 
Sabbatic  character,  and  as  Eusebius  does  not 
claim  that  this  doctrine  is  asserted  in  the  Script- 
ures, nor  in  any  preceding  ecclesiastical  writer, 
it  is  certain  that  he  was  the  father  of  the  doc- 
trine. This  new  doctrine  was  not  put  forth 
without  some  motive.  That  motive  could  not 
have  been  to  bring  forward  some  neglected  pas- 
sages of  the  Scriptures ;  for  he  does  not  quote 
a  single  text  in  its  support.  But  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  plainly  reveal  the  motive.  The 
new  doctrine  was  exactly  adapted  to  the  new  or- 
der of  things  introduced  by  Constantine.  It  was, 
moreover,  peculiarly  suited  to  flatter  that  empe- 
ror's pride,  the  very  thing  which  Eusebius  was 
under  the  strongest  temptation  to  do. 

It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  Eusebius,  in 
the  very  connection  in  which  he  announces  this 
new  doctrine,  unwittingly   exposes    its    falsity. 


FIRST    FIVE    CESTURIES.  359 

He  first  asserts  that  Christ  changed  the  Sabbath, 
and  then  virtually  contradicts  it  by  indicating 
the  real  authors  of  the  change.     Thus  he  says : — 

''AH  tilings  whatsoever  that  it  was  duty  to  do  on  the 
Sabbath,  these  we  have  transferred  to  the  Lord's  day."^ 

The  persons  here  referred  to  as  the  authors  of 
this  work  are  the  Emperor  Constantine,  and  such 
bishops  as  Eusebius,  who  loved  the  favor  of 
princes,  and  Sylvester,  the  pretended  successor 
of  Saint  Peter.  Two  facts  refute  the  assertion  of 
Eusebius  that  Christ  changed  the  Sabbath :  1. 
That  Eusebius,  who  lived  three  hundred  years 
after  the  alleged  change,  is  the  first  man  who 
mentions  such  change ;  2.  That  Eusebius  testifies 
that  himself  and  others  made  this  change,  which 
they  could  not  have  done  had  Christ  made  it  at 
the  beginning.  But  though  the  doctrine  of  the 
change  of  the  Sabbath  was  thus  announced  by 
Eusebius,  it  was  not  seconded  by  any  writer  of 
that  age.  The  doctrine  had  never  been  heard  of 
before,  and  Eusebius  had  simply  his  own  asser- 
tion, but  no  passage  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  to 
offer  in  its  support. 

But  after  Constantine,  the  Sabbath  began  to 
recover  strength,  at  least  in  the  eastern  churches. 
Prof.  Stuart,  in  speaking  of  the  period  from 
Constantine  to  the  council  of  Laodicea,  A.  D.  364, 
says : — 

' '  The  practice  of  it  [the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath]  was 
continued  by  Christians  who  were  jealous  for  the  honor 
of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  finally  became,  as  we  have  seen, 
predominant  throughout  Christendom.  It  was  supposed 
at  length  that  the  fourth  commandment  did  require  the 
observance  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  (not  merely  a  sev- 
enth part  of  time),  and  reasoning  as  Christians  of  the 

1  Cox's  Sabbath  Literature,  vol.  1.  p.  361. 


3G0  IIISTOllY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

X)resent  day  are  wont  to  do,  viz, ,  that  all  which  belonged 
to  the  ten  commandments  Avas  immutable  and  perpetual, 
the  churches  in  general  came  gradually  to  regard  the  sev- 
enth-day Sabbath  as  altogether  sacred."^ 

Prof.  Stuart,  however,  connects  with  this  the 
statement  that  Sunday  was  honored  by  all  par- 
ties. But  the  council  of  Laodicea  struck  a  heavy 
blow   at   this    Sabbath-kee-pinor   in   the   eastern 

J.         o 

church.  Thus  Mr.  James,  in  addressinor  the 
University  of  Oxford,  bears  witness  : — 

"When  the  practice  of  keeping  Saturday  Sabbaths, 
Avhich  had  become  so  general  at  the  close  of  this  century, 
was  evidently  gaining  ground  in  the  eastern  church,  a  de- 
cree was  passed  in  the  council  held  at  Laodicea  [a.  d. 
364]  '  that  members  of  the  church  should  not  rest  from 
work  on  the  Sabbath  like  Jews,  but  should  labor  on  that 
day,  and  preferring  in  honor  the  Lord's  day,  then  if  it 
be  in  their  power  should  rest  from  work  as  Christians.'  "- 

This  shows  conclusively  that  at  that  period 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  according  to  the 
commandment  was  extensive  in  the  eastern 
churches.  But  the  Laodicean  council,  not  only 
forbade  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  they  even 
pronounced  a  curse  on  those  who  should  obe}'  the 
fourth  commandment !     Prynne  thus  testifies  : — 

"  It  is  certain  that  Christ  himself,  his  apostles,  and  the 
primitive  Christians  for  some  good  space  of  time,  did  con- 
stantly observe  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  ;  .  .  .  the  evan- 
gelists and  St.  Luke  in  the  Acts  ever  styling  it  the  Sab- 
bath day,  .  .  .  and  making  mention  of  its  .  .  .  solemniza- 
tion by  the  apostles  and  other  Christians,  ...  it  being  still 
solemnized  by  many  Christians  after  the  apostles'  times, 
even  till  the  council  of  Laodicea  [a.  d.  364],  as  ecclesi- 
astical writers  and  the  twenty-ninth  canon  of  that  council 


'  Appendix  to  Gurney's  History,  &c.,  of  the  Sabbath,  pp.  11. ' 
110. 
2  Sermon's  on  the  Sacraments  and  Sabbath,  pp.  122,  123. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  361 

testify,  which  runs  thus  :  ^  '  Because  Christians  ought  not 
to  Judaize,  and  to  rest  in  the  Sabbath,  "but  to  work  in  that 
day  (which  many  did  refuse  at  that  time  to  do).  But  prefer- 
ring in  honor  the  Lord's  day  (there  being  then  a  great  con- 
troversy among  Christians  which  of  these  two  days  .  .  . 
should  have  precedency)  if  they  desired  to  rest  they  should 
do  this  as  Christians.  Wherefore  if  they  shall  be  found 
to  Judaize,  let  them  be  accursed  from  Christ. '  .  .  .  The 
seventh-day  Sabbath  was  .  .  .  solemnized  by  Christ,  the 
apostles  and  primitive  Christians,  till  the  Laodicean  coun- 
cil did  in  a  manner  quite  abolish  the  observation  of  it. 
The  council  of  Laodicea  [a.  d.  364]  .  .  .  first  set- 
tled the  observation  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  prohibited 
.  .  .  the  keeping  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  under  an  anath- 
ema."^ 

The  action  of  this  council  did  not  extirpate 
the  Sabbath  from  the  eastern  churches,  though  it 
did  materially  weaken  its  influence,  and  cause  its 
observance  to  become  with  many  only  a  nominal 
thing,  while  it  did  most  effectually  enhance  the 
sacredness  and  the  authority  of  the  Sunday  festi- 
val. That  it  did  not  wholly  extinguish  Sabbath- 
keeping  is  thus  certified  by  an  old  English 
writer,  John  Ley  : — 

'^  From  the  apostles'  time  until  the  council  of  Laodicea, 
which  was  about  the  year  364,  the  holy  observation  of  the 
Jews'  Sabbath  continued,  as  may  be  proved  out  of  many 
authors  ;  yea,  notwithstanding  the  decree  of  that  council 
against  it."  ^ 

And  Gregory,  Bishop  of  Nyssa,  about  A.  D. 
372,  uses  this  expostulation  : — 

''  With  what  eyes  can  you  behold  the  Lord's  day,  when 
you  despise  the   Sabbath?     Do   you   not   perceive   that 

1  Quod  non  oportet  Christianos  Judaizere  et  otiare  in  Sabbato, 
sed  operari  in  eodem  die.  Preferentes  autem  in  veneratione 
Dominicum  diem  si  vacare  voluerint,  ut  Christiani  hoc  faciat  ; 
qiiod  si  reperti  fuerint  Judaizare  Anathema  sint  a  Christo. 

2 Dissertation  on  the  Lord's-day  Sabbath,  pp.  33,  3i,  4t.     1(333. 

3  Sunday  a  Sabbath,  p.  Ifi3.     HUO. 

Sabbath  Historv.  ^4= 


3G2  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

they  are  sisters,  and  that  in  slighting  the  one,  you  affront 
the  other  ?"  ^ 

This  testimony  is  valuable  in  that  it  marks 
the  progress  of  apostasy  concerning  the  Sabbath. 
The  Sunday  festival  entered  the  church,  not  as  a 
divine  institution,  but  as  a  vokmtary  observance. 
Even  as  late  as  A.  D.  200,  Tertullian  said  that  it 
had  only  tradition  and  custom  in  its  support.  ^ 

But  in  A.  D.  872,  this  human  festival  had  be- 
come the  sister  and  equal  of  that  day  which  God 
hallowed  in  the  beginning  and  solemnly  com- 
manded in  the  moral  law.  How  worthy  to  be 
called  the  sister  of  the  Sabbath  the  Sunday  fes- 
tival actually  was,  may  be  judged  from  what  fol- 
lowed. When  this  self-styled  sister  had  gained 
an  acknowledged  position  in  the  family,  she  ex- 
pelled the  other,  and  trampled  her  in  the  dust. 
In  our  days,  the  Sunday  festival  claims  to  be  the 
very  day  intended  in  the  fourth  commandment. 

The  following  testimonies  exhibit  the  authority 
of  church  councils  in  its  true  light.  Jortin  is 
quoted  by  Cox  as  saying  : — 

"  In  such  assemblies,  the  best  and  the  most  moderate 
men  seldom  have  the  ascendant,  and  they  are  often  led 
or  driven  by  others  who  are  far  inferior  to  them  in  good 
qualities."  ^ 

The  same  writer  gives  us  Baxter's  opinion 
of  the  famous  Westminster  Assembly.  Baxter 
says : — 

''I  have  lived  to  see  an  assembly  of  ministers,  where 
three  or  four  leading  men  were  so  prevalent  as  to  form  a 
confession  in  the  name  of  the  whole  party,  which  had 

1  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  188;  Hesscy's  Bampton  Lec- 
tures, pp.  72,  304,  305. 
^Tertullian's  De  Corona,  sections  3  and  4. 
8  Sabbath  Laws,  Ac.  p.  138. 


FIRST    FIVE   CENTURIES.  363 

that  in  it  \Yliicli  particular  members  did  disown.  And 
when  about  a  controverted  article,  one  man  hath  charged 
me  deeply  with  questioning  the  words  of  the  church, 
others,  who  were  at  the  forming  of  that  article  have  laid 
it  all  on  that  same  man,  the  rest  being  loth  to  strive 
much  against  him  ;  and  so  it  was  he  himself  was  the 
church  whose  authority  he  so  much  urged."  ^ 

Such  has  been  the  nature  of  councils  in  all 
ages;  yet  they  have  ever  claimed  infallibility, 
and  have  largely  used  that  infallibility  in  the 
suppression  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  establishment 
of  the  festival  of  Sunday.  Of  first-day  sacred- 
ness  prior  to,  and  as  late  as,  the  time  of  Chrysos- 
tom,  Kitto  thus  testifies  : — 

'^Though  in  later  times  we  find  considerable  reference 
to  a  sort  of  consecration  of  the  day,  it  does  not  seem  at  any 
period  of  the  ancient  church  to  have  assumed  the  form  of 
such  an  observance  as  some  modern  religious  communities 
have  contended  for.  Nor  do  these  writers  in  any  instance 
pretend  to  allege  any  divine  command,  or  even  apostolic 
practice,  in  support  of  it.  .  .  .  Chrysostom  (a.  d.  360) 
concludes  one  of  his  Homilies  by  dismissing  his  audience 
to  their  respective  ordinary  occupations."^ 

It  was  reserved  for  modern  theologians  to  dis- 
cover the  divine  or  apostolic  authority  for  Sunday 
observance.  The  ancient  doctors  of  the  church 
were  unaware  that  any  such  authority  existed ; 
and  hence  they  deemed  it  lawful  and  proper  to 
engage  in  usual  worldly  business  on  that  day 
when  their  religious  worship  was  concluded. 
Thus,  Heylyn  bears  witness  concerning  St. 
Chrysostom  that  he 

''  Confessed  it  to  be  lawful  for  a  man  to  look  unto  his 
worldly  business  on  the  Lord's  day,  after  the  congrega- 
tion was  dismissed."  ^ 

1  Sabbath  Laws,  &c.  p.  138. 

"Cyc.  Bib.  Lit.  art.  Lord's  Day  ;  Heylyn's  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii. 
chap.  ii.  sect.  7.  ^  Hist.  Sab.  part  i'i.  chap.  iii.  sect.  9. 


364  HISTOKY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

St.  Jerome,  a  fow  years  after  this,  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  fifth  century,  in  his  commendation  of 
the  lady  Paula,  shows  his  own  opinion  of  Sunday 
labor.     Thus  he  says  : — 

''Paula,  with  the  women,  as  soon  as  they  returned 
home  on  the  Lord's  day,  they  sat  doMTi  severally  to  their 
work,  and  made  clothes  for  themselves  and  others."^ 

Morer  justifies  this  Sunday  labor  in  the  follow- 
ing terms : — 

"If  we  read  they  did  any  work  on  the  Lord's  day,  it 
is  to  be  remembered  that  this  application  to  their  daily 
tasks  was  not  till  their  worship  was  quite  over,  when  they 
might  with  innocency  enough  resume  them,  because  the 
length  of  time  or  the  number  of  hours  assigned  for  piety 
was  not  then  so  well  explained  as  in  after  ages.  The 
state  of  the  church  is  vastly  different  from  what  it  was  in 
those  early  days.  Christians  then  for  some  centuries  of 
years  were  under  persecution  and  poverty  ;  and  besides 
their  own  wants,  they  had  many  of  them  severe  masters 
who  compelled  them  to  work,  and  made  them  bestow 
less  time  in  spiritual  matters  than  they  otherwise  would. 
In  St.  Jerome's  age  their  condition  was  better,  because 
Christianity  had  got  into  the  throne  as  well  as  into  the 
empire.  Yet  for  all  this,  the  entire  sanctification  of  the 
Lord's  day  proceeded  slowly  :  and  that  it  was  the  work 
of  time  to  bring  it  to  perfection,  appears  from  the  several 
steps  the  church  made  in  her  constitutions,  and  from  the 
decrees  of  emperors  and  other  princes,  wherein  the  pro- 
hibitions from  servile  and  civil  business  advanced  by 
degrees  from  one  species  to  another,  till  the  day  had  got 
a  considerable  figure  in  the  world,  Now,  therefore,  the 
case  being  so  much  altered,  the  most  proper  use  of  citing 
those  old  examples  is  only,  in  point  of  doctrine,  to  show 
that  ordinary  work,  as  being  a  compliance  with  provi- 
dence for  the  support  of  natural  life,  is  not  sinful  even  on 
the  Lord's  day,  when  necessity  is  loud,  and  the  laws  of 
that  church  and  nation  where  we  live  are  not  against  it. 
This  is  what  the  first  Christians  had  to  say  for  themselves, 

>  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  204;  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap, 
iii.  S2ct.  7. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  dbO 

in  the  works  tliey  did  on  that  day.  And  if  those  works 
had  been  then  judged  a  prophanation  of  the  festival,  I 
dare  believe,  they  would  have  suffered  martyrdom  rather 
than  been  guilty,"  ^ 

The  bishop  of  Ely  thus  testifies  : — 

''In  St  Jerome's  days,  and  in  the  very  place  where  he 
was  residing,  the  devoutest  Christians  did  ordinarily  work 
upon  the  Lord's  day,  when  the  service  of  the  church  was 
ended." " 

•  St.  Augustine,  the  cotemporary  of  Jerome, 
gives  a  synopsis  of  the  argument  in  that  age  for 
Sunday  observance,  in  the  following  words  : — 

' '  It  apiDears  from  the  sacred  Scriptures,  that  this  day 
was  a  solemn  one  ;  it  was  the  first  day  of  the  age,  that  is 
of  the  existence  of  our  world  ;  in  it  the  elements  of  the 
world  were  formed  ;  on  it  the  angels  were  created  ;  on  it 
Christ  rose  also  from  the  dead  ;  on  it  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scended from  Heaven  upon  the  apostles  as  manna  had 
done  in  the  wilderness.  For  these  and  other  such  cir- 
cumstances the  Lord's  day  is  distinguished  ;  and  there- 
fore the  holy  doctors  of  the  church  have  decreed  that  all 
the  glory  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  is  transferred  to  it.  Let 
us  therefore  keep  the  Lord's  day  as  the  ancients  were 
commanded  to  do  the  Sabbath. "  ^ 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  Augustine  does  not 
assign  among  his  reasons  for  first-day  observance, 
the  change  of  the  Sabbath  by  Christ  or  his  apos- 
tles, or  that  the  apostles  observed  that  day,  or 
that  John  had  given  it  the  name  of  Lord's  day. 
These  modern  first-day  arguments  were  unknown 
to  Augustine.  He  gave  the  credit  of  the  work, 
not  to  Christ  or  his  inspired  apostles,  but  to  the 
holy  doctors  of  the  church,  who,  of  their  own  ac- 
cord, had  transferred  the  glory  of  the  ancient 
Sabbath  to  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun.     The 

'  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Dar,  pp.  236,  237 
2  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath,  p.  219. 
'Sabbath  Laws,  &c.  p.  284, 


366  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH, 

first  day  of  tlie  week  was  considered  in  the  fifth 
century  the  most  proper  day  for  giving  holy  or- 
ders, that  is,  for  ordinations,  and  about  the  mid- 
dle of  this  century,  says  Heylyn, 

''A  law  [was]  made  by  Leo  then  Pope  of  Rome,  and 
generally  since  taken  up  in  the  western  church,  that  they 
should  be  conferred  upon  no  day  else."  ^ 

According  to  Dr.  Justin  Edwards,  this  same 
pope  made  also  this  decree  in  behalf  of  Sun- 
day:— 

''We  ordain,  according  to  the  true  meaning  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  of  the  apostles  as  thereby  directed,  that 
on  the  sacred  day  wherein  our  own  integrity  was  restored, 
all  do  rest  and  cease  from  labor." " 

Soon  after  this  edict  of  the  pope,  the  emperor 
Leo,  A.  D.  469,  put  forth  the  following  decree : — 

"It  is  our  will  and  pleasure,  that  the  holy  days  dedi- 
cated to  the  most  high  God,  should  not  be  spent  in  sens- 
ual recreations,  or  otherwise  prophaned  by  suits  of  law, 
especially  the  Lord's  day,  which  we  decree  to  be  a  vener- 
able day,  and  therefore  free  it  of  all  citations,  executions, 
pleadings,  and  the  like  avocations.  Let  not  the  circus  or 
theater   be   opened,  nor   combating  with  wild  beasts  be 

seen  on  it If   any  will  presume  to  ojffend  in  the 

premises,  if  he  be  a  military  man,  let  him  lose  his  com- 
mission ;  or  if  other,  let  his  estate  or  goods  be  confis- 
cated."^ 

And  this  emperor  determined  to  mend  the 
breach  in  Constantine's  law,  and  thus  prohibit 
agriculture  on  Sunday.     So  he  adds : — 

''We  command  therefore  all,  as  well  husbandmen  as 
others,  to  forbear  work  on  this  day  of  our  restoration."* 

The   holy  doctors  of  the  church  had  by  this 

J  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sect.  8. 

2  Sabbath  Manual,  p.  123. 

'Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  250.         Md.  p.  20O. 


FIRST    FIVE    CENTURIES.  367 

time  very  effectuall}^  despoiled  the  Sabbath  of  its 
glory,  transferring  it  to  the  Lord's  day  of  Pope 
Sylvester ;  as  Augustine  testifies ;  yet  was  not 
Sabbatical  observance  wholly  extinguished  even 
in  the  Catholic  church.  The  historian  Socrates, 
who  wrote  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century, 
thus  testifies : — 

''For  altliougli  almost  all  churches  throughout  the 
world  celebrate  the  sacred  mysteries  on  the  Sabbath  of 
every  week,  yet  the  Christians  of  Alexandria  and  at 
Rome,  on  account  of  some  ancient  tradition,  refuse  to  do 
this.  The  Egyptians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Alexandria, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Thebais,  hold  their  religious  meet- 
ings on  the  Sabbath,  but  do  not  participate  of  the  mys- 
teries in  the  manner  usual  among  Christians  in  general — 
for  after  having  eaten  and  satisfied  themselves  with  food 
of  all  kinds,  in  the  evening,  making  their  oblations,  they 
partake  of  the  mysteries."^ 

As  the  church  of  Rome  had  turned  the  Sab- 
bath into  a  fast  some  two  hundred  years  before 
this,  in  order  to  oppose  its  observance,  it  is  prob- 
able that  this  was  the  ancient  tradition  referred 
to  by  Socrates.  And  Sozomen,  the  cotemporary 
of  Socrates,  speaks  on  the  same  point  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"The  people  of  Constantinople,  and  of  several  other 
cities,  assemble  together  on  the  Sabba.th,  as  well  as  on 
the  next  day  ;  which  custom  is  never  observed  at  Rome, 
or  at  Alexandria.  There  are  several  cities  and  villages  in 
Egypt  where,  contrary  to  the  usages  established  else- 
where, the  people  meet  together  on  Sabbath  evenings  ; 
and  although  they  have  dined  previously,  partake  of  the 
mysteries."' 

On  the  'statement  of  these  historians.  Cox  re- 
marks : — 


1  Socrates,  book  v.  chap.  xxii. 

2  Sozomen,  book  vii.  chap.  I'J ;  Lardncr,  vol.  iv.  chap.  Ixxxv. 

p.  217. 


ZGa  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

"It  was  their  practice  to  Sabbatize  on  Saturday,  and  to 
celebrate  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rejoicing  and  festivity. 
While,  however,  in  some  places  a  respect  was  thus  gener- 
ally paid  to  both  of  these  days,  the  Judaizing  practice 
of  observing  Saturday  was  by  the  leading  churches  ex- 
pressly condemned,  and  all  the  doctrines  connected  with 
it  steadfastly  resisted. " — Sabbath  Laws,  p.  280. 

The  time  had  now  come,  when,  as  stated  by 
Coleman,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  was 
deemed  heretical ;  and  the  close  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury witnessed  its  effectual  suppression  in  the 
great  body  of  the  Catholic  church. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

SUNDAY    DURING  THE   DARK  AGES. 

The  pope  becomes  the  head  of  all  the  churches — The  people 
of  God  retire  into  the  wilderness — Sunday  to  be  traced 
through  the  Dark  Ages  in  the  history  of  the  Catholic  church 
— State  of  that  festival  in  the  sixth  century — It  did  not  ac- 
quire the  title  of  Sabbath  for  many  ages — Time  when  it 
became  a  day  of  abstinence  from  labor  in  the  east — When 
in  the  west — Sunday  canon  of  the  first  council  of  Orleans 
— Of  the  council  of  Arragon — Of  the  third  council  of  Or- 
leans— Of  a  council  at  Mascon — At  Narbon — At  Auxerre — 
Miracles  establishing  the  sacredness  of  Sunday — The  pope 
advises  men  to  atone,  by  the  pious  observance  of  Sunday, 
for  the  sins  of  the  previous  week — The  Sabbath  and  Sun- 
day both  strictly  kept  by  a  class  at  Rome  who  were  put 
dov.-n  by  the  pope — According  to  Twisse  they  were  two 
distinct  classes — The  Sabbath,  like  its  Lord,  crucified  be- 
tween two  thieves — Council  of  Chalons — At.  Toledo,  in 
which  the  Jews  were  forbidden  to  keep  the  Sabbath  and 
commanded  to  keep  Sunday — First  English  law  for  Sunday 
— Council  at  Constantinople — In  England — In  Bavaria — 
Canon  of  the  archbishop  of  York — Statutes  of  Charlemagne 
and  canons  of  councils  which  he  called — The  pope  aids  in 
the  work — Council  at  Paris  originates  a  famous  first-day 


SUXDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  369 

argument — The  councils  fail  to  establish  Sunday  sacred- 
ness — The  emperors  besought  to  send  out  some  more  ter- 
rible edict  in  order  to  compel  the  observance  of  that  day 
— The  pope  takes  the  matter  in  hand  in  earnest  and  gives 
Sunday  an  eflFectual  establishment — Other  statutes  and  can- 
ons— Sunday  piety  of  a  Norwegian  king — Sunday  conse- 
crated to  the  mass — Curious  but  obsolete  first-day  argu- 
ments— The  eating  of  meat  forbiaklen  upon  the  Sabbath  by 
the  pope — Pope  Urban  II.  ordains  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
to  be  a  festival  for  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary — Ap- 
parition from  St.  Peter — The  pope  sends  Eustace  into 
England  with  a  roll  that  fell  from  Heaven  commanding 
Sunday  observance  under  direful  penalties — Miracles 
which  followed — Sunday  established  in  Scotland — Other 
Sunday  laws  down  to  the  Reformation — Sunday  always 
only  a  human  ordinance. 

The  opening  of  the  sixth  century  witnessed 
the  development  of  the  great  apostasy  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  man  of  sin  might  be  plainly  seen 
sitting  in  the  temple  of  God.^  The  western  Ro- 
man Empire  had  been  broken  up  into  ten  king- 
doms, and  the  way  was  now  prepared  for  the 
work  of  the  little  horn.-  In  the  early  part  of  this 
century,  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  made  head  over 
the  entire  church  by  the  emperor  of  the  east, 
Justinian.^  The  dragon  gave  unto  the  beast  his 
power,  and  his  seat,  and  great  authority.  From 
this  accession  to  supremacy  by  the  Roman  pon- 
tiff, date  the  "  time,  times,  and  dividing  of  time," 
or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  of  the  proph- 
ecies of  Daniel  and  John/ 

The  true  people  of  God  now' retired  for  safety 
into  places  of  obscurity  and  seclusion,  as  repre- 
sented by  the  prophecy :  "  The  woman  fled  into 
the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place  prepared 

i2Thess.  2,  2  Dan.  7. 

sShimeall's  Bible  Chronology,  part  ii.  chap.  ix.  sect.  5,  pp.  17o, 
1  7*5  ;  Croly  on  the  Apocalvpse,  pp.  167-173. 
<Dan.  7  :  8,  24,  25  ;  Rev.  13  : 1-5. 


370  HISTORY   OF   THE   SABBATH. 

of  God,  that  they  should  feed  her  there  a  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  threescore  days."^  Leav- 
ing their  history  for  the  present,  let  us  follow- 
that  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  trace  in  its  rec- 
ord the  history  of  the  Sunday  festival  through 
the  period  of  the  Dark  Ages.  Of  the  fifth  and 
sixth  centuries,  Heylyn  bears  the  following  tes- 
timony : — 

"The  faithful  being  united  better  than  before,  became 
more  uniform  in  matters  of  devotion  ;  and  in  that  uni- 
formity did  agree  together  to  give  the  Lord's  day  all  the 
honors  of  an  holy  festival.  Yet  was  not  this  done  all  at 
once,  but  by  degrees  ;  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  being 
■well-nigh  spent  before  it  came  into  that  height  which 
hath  since  continued.  The  emperors  and  the  prelates  in 
these  times  had  the  same  affections  ;  both  [being]  earn- 
est to  advance  this  day  above  all  other  ;  and  to  the 
edicts  of  the  one  and  ecclesiastical  constitutions  of  the 
other,  it  stands  indebted  for  many  of  those  privileges  and 
exemptions  which  it  still  enjoyeth."- 

But  Sunday  had  not  yet  acquired  the  title  of 
Sabbath.     Thus  Brerewood   bears  testimony : — 

''The  name  of  the  Sabbath  remained  appropriated  to 
the  old  Sabbath  ;  and  was  never  attributed  to  the  Lord's 
day,  not  of  many  hundred  years  after  our  Saviour's  time."* 

And  Heylyn  says  of  the  term  Sabbath  in  the 
ancient  church : — 

"The  Saturday  is  called  amongst  them  by  no  other 
name  than  that  which  formerly  it  had,  the  Sahhath.  So 
that  whenever  for  a  thousand  years  and  upwards,  we 
meet  with  Sabbatum  in  any  writer  of  what  name  soever, 
it  must  be  understood  of  no  day  but  Saturday.''* 

Dr.  Francis  White,  bishop  of  Ely,  also  testi- 
fies: — 

'Rev.  12.  2 Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sect.  1. 

=*  Learned  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath,  p.  7",  ed.  lOSl. 
*  Hist.  Sab.  ]>art  ii.  chap.  ii.  sect.  1-'. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  371 

"  Wlien  the  ancient  fathers  distinguish  and  give  proper 
names  to  the  particular  days  of  the  week,  they  always 
style  the  Saturday,  Sahbatum,  the  Sabbath,  and  the  Sun- 
day, or  first  day  of  the  week,  Dominicxim,  the  Lord's 
day."^ 

It  should  be  observed,  however,  that  the  earli- 
est mention  of  Sunday  as  the  Lord's  day,  is  in 
the  writings  of  Tertullian ;  Justin  Martyr,  some 
sixty  years  before,  styling  it ''  the  day  called  Sun- 
day ;"  while  the  authoritative  application  of  that 
term  to  Sunday  was  by  Sylvester,  bishop  of 
Rome,  more  than  one  hundred  years  after  the 
time  of  Tertullian.  The  earliest  mention  of  Sun- 
day as  Christian  Sabbath  is  thus  noted  by  Hey- 
lyn:— 

"The  first  who  ever  used  it  to  denote  the  Lord's  day 
(the  first  that  I  have  met  with  in  all  this  search)  is  one 
Petrus  Alfonsus — he  lived  about  the  time  that  Rupertus 
did — [which  was  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century] 
who  calls  the  Lord's  day  by  the  name  of  Christian  Sab- 
bath. "- 

Of  Sunday  labor  in  the  eastern  church,  Hey- 
lyn  says : — 

"  It  was  near  nine  hundred  years  from  our  Saviour's 
birth  if  not  quite  so  much,  before  restraint  of  husbandry 
on  this  day  h?d  been  first  thought  of  in  the  east  ;  and 
probably  being  thus  restrained  did  find  no  more  obedi- 
ence there  than  it  had  done  before  in  the  western  parts. "  ^ 

Of  Sunday  labor  in  the  western  church.  Dr. 
Francis  White  thus  testifies : — 

"  The  Catholic  church  for  more  than  six  hundred  years 
after  Christ,  permitted  labor,  and  gave  license  to  many 
Christian  people  to  work  upon  the  Lord's  day,  at  such 

1  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day,  p.  202. 

2  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chRp.  v.  sect.  13. 

3  Id.  part  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  6. 


372  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

hours  as  they  were  not  commanded  to  be  present  at  tlie 
public  service  by  the  precej^t  of  the  church."^ 

But  let  US  trace  the  several  steps  by  which  the 
festival  of  Sunday  increased  in  strength  until  it 
attained  its  complete  development.  These  will 
be  found  at  present  mostly  in  the  edicts  of  em- 
perors, and  the  decrees  of  councils.  Morer  tells 
us  that, 

*' Under  Clodoveus  king  of  France  met  the  bishops  in 
the  first  council  of  Orleans  [a.  d.  507],  where  they  obliged 
themselves  and  their  successors,  to  be  always  at  the 
church  on  the  Lord's  day,  except  in  case  of  sickness  or 
some  great  infirmity.  And  because  they,  with  some  other 
of  the  clergy  in  those  days,  took  cognizance  of  judicial 
matters,  therefore  by  a  council  at  Arragon,  about  the 
year  518  in  the  reign  of  Theodorick,  king  of  the  Goths,  it 
was  decreed  that  '  No  bishop  or  other  person  in  holy  or- 
ders should  examine  or  pass  judgment  in  any  civil  con- 
troversy on  the  Lord's  day.'  " " 

This  shows  that  civil  courts  were  sometimes 
held  on  Sunday  by  the  bishops  in  those  days ; 
otherwise  such  a  prohibition  would  not  have 
been  put  forth.  Hengstenberg,  in  his  notice  of 
the  third  council  of  Orleans,  gives  us  an  insight 
into  the  then  existing  state  of  the  Sunday  festi- 
val : — 

''The  third  council  of  Orleans,  a.  d.  538,  says  in  its 
twenty-ninth  canon  :  '  The  opinion  is  spreading  amongst 
the  people,  that  it  is  wrong  to  ride,  or  drive,  or  cook  food, 
or  do  anything  to  the  house,  or  the  person  on  the  Sun- 
day. But  since  such  opinions  are  more  Jewish  than 
Christian,  that  shall  be  lawful  in  future,  which  has  been 
so  to  the  present  time.  On  the  other  hand  agricultural 
labor  ought  to  be  laid  aside,  in  order  that  the  people  may 
not  he  prevented  from  attending  church.'  "^ 

» Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day,  pp.  217,  218. 

2  Dialofijues  on  the  iiOrd's  Day,  pp.  263,  264. 

3  The  Jiord's  Day,  p.  :'>8. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  373 

Observe  the  reason  assigned.  It  is  not  lest 
they  violate  the  law  of  the  Sabbath,  but  it  is  that 
they  may  not  be  kept  from  church.  Another 
authority  states  the  case  thus : — 

'^  Labor  in  the  country  [on  Sunday]  was  not  prohibited 
till  the  council  of  Orleans,  a.  d.  538.  It  was  thus  an  in- 
stitution of  the  church,  as  Dr.  Paley  has  remarked.  The 
earlier  Christians  met  in  the  morning  of  that  day  for 
prayer  and  singing  hymns  in  commemoration  of  Christ's 
resurrection,  and  then  went  about  their  usual  duties. "  ^ 

In  A.  D.  588,  another  council  was  holden,  the 
occasion  of  which  is  thus  stated  : — 

''And  because,  notwithstanding  all  this  care,  the  day 
was  not  duly  observed,  the  bishops  were  again  summoned 
to  Mascon,  a  town  in  Burgundy,  by  King  Gunthrum,  and 
there  they  framed  this  canon :  '  ^Notice  is  taken  that 
Christian  people,  very  much  neglect  and  slight  the  Lord's 
day,  giving  themselves  as  on  other  days  to  common  work, 
to  redress  which  irreverence,  for  the  future,  we  warn  ev- 
ery Christian  who  bears  not  that  name  in  vain,  to  give 
ear  to  our  advice,  knowing  we  have  a  concern  on  us  for 
your  good,  and  a  power  to  hinder  you  to  do  evil.  Keep 
then  the  Lord's  day,  the  day  of  our  new  birth.'  "- 

Further  legislation  being  necessary,  we  are 
told:— 

"  About  a  year  forward,  there  was  a  council  at  Narbon, 
w^hich  forbid  all  persons  of  what  country  or  quality  so- 
ever, to  do  any  servile  work  on  the  Lord's  day.  But  if 
any  man  presumed  to  disobey  this  canon  he  was  to  be 
fined  if  a  freeman,  and  if  a  servant,  severely  lashed.  Or  as 
Surius  represents  the  penalty  in  the  edict  of  King  Recar- 
edus,  wliich  he  put  out,  near  the  same  time  to  strengthen 
the  decrees  of  the  council,  '  Rich  men  were  to  be  punished 
v^dth  the  loss  of  a  moiety  of  their  estates,  and  the  poorer 
sort  with  perpetual  banishment,'  in  the  year  of  grace  590. 
Another  synod  was  held  at  Auxerre  a  city  in  Champain,  in 
the  reign  of  Clotair  king  of  France,  where  it  was  decreed 

1  Dictionary  of  Chronology,  p.  815,  art.  Sunday. 
-  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  --'i;.'). 


374  HISTORY  OF  the  sabbath. 

.     .     .     'that  no  man  should  be  allowed  to  plow,  nor 
cart,  or  do  any  such  thing  on  the  Lord's  day.' "^ 

Such  were  some  of  the  efforts  made  in  the 
sixth  century  to  advance  the  sacredness  of  the 
Sunday  festival.     And  Morer  tells  us  that, 

"For  fear  the  doctrine  should  not  take  without  mir- 
acles to  support  it,  Gregory  of  Tours  [about  a.  d.  590] 
furnishes  us  with  several  to  that  purpose."" 

Mr.  Francis  West,  an  Eoglish  first-day  writer, 
gi-avely  adduces  one  of  these  miracles  in  support 
of  first-day  sacredness  : — 

"Gregory  of  Tours  repprteth,  'that  a  husbandman, 
who  upon  the  Lord's  day  went  to  plough  his  field,  as  he 
cleansed  his  plough  with  an  iron,  the  iron  stuck  so  fast 
in  his  hand  that  for  two  years  he  could  not  be  delivered 
from  it,  but  carried  it  about  continually,  to  his  exceeding 
great  pain  and  shame.'  "^ 

In  the  conclusion  of  the  sixth  century.  Pope 
Gregory  exhorted  the  people  of  Rome  to  "expiate 
on  the  day  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  what  was 
remissly  done  for  the  six  days  before."^  In  the 
same  epistle,  this  pope  condemned  a  class  of  men 
at  Rome  who  advocated  the  strict  observance  of 
both  the  Sabbath  and  the  Sunday,  styling  them 
the  preachers  of  Antichrist.^     This  shows  the  in- 

1  Id.  pp.  265,  266  ;  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  iv.  sect.  7. 

2  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  68. 

3  Historical  and  Practical  Discourse  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  174. 
*  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  282. 

«Fleury,  Hist.  Eccl.  Tome  viii.  Livre  xxxvi.  sect.  22;  Hey- 
Ijn's  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  1.  Dr.  TwMsse,  however, 
asserts  that  the  pope  speaks  of  two  classes.  He  gives  Gregory's 
words  as  follows  :  "Relation  is  made  unto  me  that  certain  men 
of  a  perverse  spirit,  have  sowed  among  you  some  corrupt  doc- 
trines contrary  to  our  holy  faith  ;  so  as  to  forbid  any  work  to  be 
done  on  the  Sabbath  day  :  these  men  we  may  well  call  the  preach- 
ers of  Antichrist.  .  .  .  Another  report  was  brought  unto  me; 
and  what  was  that?  That  some  perverse  persons  preach  among 
you,  that  on  the  Lord's  day  none  should  be  washed.  This  is 
clearly  another  point  maintained  by  other  persons,  different  from 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  375 

tolerant  feeling  of  the  papacy  toward  the  Sab- 
bath, even  when  joined  with  the  strict  observance 
of  Sunday.  It  also  shoAvs  that  there  were  Sab- 
bath-keepers even  in  Rome  itself  as  late  as  the 
seventh  century  ;  although  so  far  bewildered  by 
the  prevailing  darkness  that  they  joined  with  its 
observance  a  strict  abstinence  from  labor  on 
Sunday. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  seventh  century  arose 
another  foe  to  the  Bible  Sabbath  in  the  person  of 
Mahomet.  To  distinguish  his  followers  alike  from 
those  who  observed  the  Sabbath  and  those  who 
observed  the  festival  of  Sunday,  he  selected  Fri- 
day, the  sixth  day  of  the  week,  as  their  religious 
festival.  And  thus  "  the  Mahometans  and  the 
Romanists  crucified  the  Sabbath,  as  the  Jews 
and  the  Romans  did  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  be- 
tween two  thieves,  the  sixth  and  first  day  of  the 
week."^  For  Mahometanism  and  Romanism 
each  suppressed  the  Sabbath  over  a  wide  extent 
of  territory.  About  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century,  we  have  further  canons  of  the  church  in 
behalf  of  Sunday : — 

"  At  Chalons,  a  city  in  Burgundy,  about  the  year  654, 
there  was  a  provincial  synod  which  confirmed  what  had 
been  done  by  the  third  council  of  Orleans,  about  the  ob- 
servation of  the  Lord's  day,  namely  that  '  none  should 
plow  or  reap,  or  do  any  other  thing  belonging  to  hus- 
bandry, on  pain  of  the  censures  of  the  church  ;  which  was 
the  more  minded,  because  backed  with  the  secular  power, 
and  by  an  edict  menacing  such  as  offended  herein ;  who  if 
bondmen,  were  to  be  soundly  beaten,  but  if  free,  had  three 

the  former." — Morality  of  the  Fourth  Commandment,  pp.  19,  20. 
If  Dr.  Twisse  is  right,  the  Sabbath-keepers  in  Rome  about  the 
year  600  were  not  chargeable  with  the  Sunday  observance  above 
mentioned. 

1  The  idea  is  suggested  by  the  language  of  an  anonymous  first- 
day  writer  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Irenasus  Philalethes,  in  a 
work  entitled  ''  Sabbato- Dominica,'^  pref.  p.  11,  London,  1643. 


376  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

admonitions,  and  then  if  faultj^,  lost  the  third  part  of 
their  patrimony,  and  if  still  obstinate  were  made  slaves 
for  the  future.  And  in  the  first  year  of  Eringius,  about 
the  time  of  Pope  Agatho  there  sat  the  twelfth  council  of 
Toledo  in  Spain,  a.  d.  681,  where  the  Jews  were  forbid 
to  keep  their  own  festivals,  but  so  far  at  least  observe  the 
Lord's  day  as  to  do  no  manner  of  work  on  it,  whereby 
they  might  express  their  contempt  of  Christ  or  his  wor- 
ship.' "^ 

These  were  weighty  reasons  indeed  for  Sunday 
observance.  Nor  can  it  be  thought  strange  that 
in  the  Dark  Ages  a  constant  succession  of  such 
thino^s  should  eventuate  in  the  universal  observ- 
ance  of  that  day.  Even  the  Jews  were  to  be 
compelled  to  desist  from  Sabbath  observance, 
and  to  honor  Sunday  by  resting  on  that  day 
from  their  labor.  The  earliest  mention  of  Sun- 
day in  English  statutes  appears  to  be  the  follow- 
ing:— 

A.  D.  692.  '^  Ina,  king  of  the  west  Saxons,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  Cenred  his  father,  and  Heddes  and  Erkenwald  his 
bishopa  with  all  his  aldermen  and  sages,  in  a  great  as- 
sembly of  the  servants  of  God,  for  the  health  of  their 
souls,  and  common  preservation  of  the  kingdom,  made 
several  constitutions,  of  which  this  was  the  third  :  *  If  a 
servant  do  any  work  on  Sunday  by  his  master's  order, 
he  shall  be  free,  and  the  master  pay  thirty  shillings ;  but 
if  he  went  to  work  on  his  own  head,  he  shall  be  either 
beaten  with  stripes,  or  ransom  himself  with  a  price.  A 
freeman,  if  he  works  on  this  day,  shall  lose  his  freedom 
or  pay  sixty  shillings  ;  if  he  be  a  priest,  double.'  "' 

The  same  year  that  this  law  was  enacted  in 
England,  the  sixth  general  council  convened  at 
Constantinople,  which  decreed  that, 

*'  If  any  bishop  or  other  clergyman,  or  any  of  the  laity, 
absented  himself  from  the  church  three  Sundays  together, 
except  in  cases  of  very  great  necessity,  if  a  clergyman,  he 

1  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's  Day,  p.  liCT.  » id.  p.  033. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  377 

was  to  be  deposed ;  if  a  layman,  debarred  the  holy  com- 
munion,"^ 

In  the  year  747,  a  council  of  the  English  clergy 
was  called  under  Cuthbert,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, in  the  reign  of  Egbert,  king  of  Kent,  and 
this  constitution  made : — 

'^It  is  ordered  that  the  Lord's  day  be  celebrated  with 
due  veneration,  and  wholly  devoted  to  the  worship  of 
God.  And  that  all  abbots  and  priests,  on  this  most  holy 
day,  remain  in  their  respective  monasteries  and  churches, 
and  there  do  their  duty  according  to  their  places."" 

Another  ecclesiastical  statute  of  the  eighth 
century  was  enacted  at  Dingosolinum  in  Bavaria, 
where  a  synod  met  about  772  which  decreed  that, 

"  If  any  man  shall  work  his  cart  on  this  day,  or  do  any 
such  common  business,  his  team  shall  be  presently  forfeited 
to  the  public  use,  and  if  the  party  persists  in  his  folly,  let 
him  be  sold  for  a  bondman."" 

The  English  were  not  behind  their  neighbors 
in  the  good  work  of  establishing  the  sacred ness 
of  Sunday.     Thus  we  read  : — 

A.  D.  784.  ''Egbert,  archbishop  of  York,  to  show 
positively  what  was  to  be  done  on  Sundays,  and  what  the 
laws  designed  by  prohibiting  ordinary  work  to  be  done  on 
such  days,  made  this  canon  :  '  Let  nothing  else,  saith  he, 
be  done  on  the  Lord's  day,  but  to  attend  on  God  in  hymns 
and  psalms  and  spiritual  songs.  Whoever  marries  on 
Sunday,  let  him  do  penance  for  seven  days.'  "  * 

In  the  conclusion  of  the  eighth  century,  fur- 
ther  efforts  ^vere  made  in  behalf  of  this  favored 
day  :— 

"  Charles  the  Great  summoned  the  bishops  to  Friuli, 
in  Italy,  where  .  .  .  they  decreed  [a.  d.  791]  that  all 
people  should,  with  due  reverence  and  devotion,  honor  the 

1  Dialogu«s,  &c.  p.  268.  2  id.  pp.  283,  281. 

3  Id,  p.  268.  "  Id.  p.  284. 

Sabbath  Historv.  yrj 


378  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Lord's   day Under  the   same   prince    another 

council  was  called  three  years  later  at  Frankford  in  Ger- 
many, and  there  the  limits  of  the  Lord's  day  were  deter- 
mined from  Saturday  evening  to  Sunday  evening."^ 

The  live  councils  of  Mentz,  Rheims,  Tours, 
Chalons,  and  Aries,  were  all  called  in  the  year 
813  by  Charlemagne.  It  would  be  too  irksome  to 
the  reader  to  dwell  upon  the  several  acts  of  these 
councils  in  behalf  of  Sunday.  They  are  of  the 
same  character  as  those  already  quoted.  The 
council  of  Chalons,  however,  is  worthy  of  being 
noticed  in  that,  according  to  Morer, 

' '  They  entreated  the  help  of  the  secular  power,  and  de- 
sired the  emperor  [Charlemagne]  to  pro^dde  for  the  strict- 
er observation  of  it  [Sunday].  Which  he  accordingly  did, 
and  left  no  stone  unturned  to  secure  the  honor  of  the 
day.  His  care  succeeded  ;  and  during  his  reign,  the 
Lord's  day  bore  a  considerable  figure.  But  after  his  day, 
it  put  on  another  face. " " 

The  pope  lent  a  helping  hand  in  checking  the 
profanation  of  Sunday : — 

"  And  thereupon  Pope  Eugenius,  in  a  synod  held  at 
Rome  about  826,  .  .  .  gave  directions  that  the  parish 
priest  should  admonish  such  offenders  and  wish  them  to 
go  to  church  and  say  tlieir  prayers,  lest  otherwise  they 
might  bring  some  great  calamity  on  themselves  and 
neighbors. "  ^ 

All  this,  however,  was  not  sufficient,  and  so 
another  council  was  summoned.  At  this  council 
was  brought  forward — perhaps  for  the  first  time 
— the  famous  first-day  argument  now  so  familiar 
to  all,  that  Sunday  is  proved  to  be  the  true  Sab- 
bath because  that  men  are  struck  by  lightning 
wdio  labor  on  that  day.     Thus  we  read : — 

''But  these  paternal  admonitions  turning  to  little  ac- 
count, a  provincial  council  was  held  at  Paris  three  years 

J  Dialogues,  &c.  p.  '2G0.  2  id.  p,  270.  ^Id.  p.  271. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  379 

after  ...  in  829,  wherein  the  prelates  complain  that 
'  The  Lord's  day  was  not  kept  with  reverence  as  became 
religion  .  .  .  which  was  the  reason  that  God  had  sent 
several  judgments  on  them,  and  in  a  very  remarkable 
manner  punished  some  people  for  slighting  and  abusing 
it.  For,  say  they,  many  of  us  by  our  own  knowledge, 
and  some  by  hearsay  know,  that  several  countrymen  fol- 
lowing their  husbandry  on  this  day  have  been  killed  with 
lightning,  others,  being  siezed  with  convulsions  in  their 
joints,  have  miserably  perished.  Whereby  it  is  apparent 
how  high  the  displeasure  of  God  was  upon  their  neglect  of 
this  day. '  And  at  last  they  conclude  that  '  in  the  first  place 
the  priests  and  ministers,  then  kings  and  princes,  and  all 
faithful  people  be  beseeched  to  use  their  utmost  endeavors 
and  care  that  the  day  be  restored  to  its  honor,  and  for 
the  credit  of  Christianity  more  devoutly  observed  for  the 
time  to  come.'  "^ 

Further  legislation  being  necessary, 

"  It  was  decreed  about  seven  years  after  in  a  council 
at  Aken,  under  Lewis  the  Godly,  that  neither  pleadings 
nor  marriages  should  be  allowed  on  the  Lord's  day."^ 

But  the  law  of  Charlemagne,  though  backed 
with  the  authority  of  the  church,  as  expressed  in 
the  canons  of  the  councils  already  quoted,  by  the 
remissness  of  Lewis,  his  successor  became  very 
feeble.  It  is  evident  that  canons  and  decrees  of 
councils,  though  fortified  with  the  mention  of 
terrible  judgments  that  had  befallen  transgressors, 
were  not  yet  sufficient  to  enforce  the  sacred  day. 
Another  and  more  terrific  statute  than  any  yet 
issued  was  sought  at  the  hands  of  the  emperor. 
Thus  we  read : — 

"  Thereupon  an  address  was  made  to  the  emperors, 
Lewis  and  Lotharius,  that  they  would  be  pleased  to  take 
some  care  in  it,  and  send  out  some  precept  or  injunction 
more  severe  than  what  was  hitherto  extant,  to  strike 
terror  into  their  subjects,  and  force  them  to  forbear  their 

1  Dialogue,  &c.  p.  271 ;  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  7. 

2  Dialogue.1,  &c.  p.  272. 


380  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ploughing,  pleading,  and  marketing,  then  gro%vn  again 
into  use  ;  which  was  done  about  the  year  853  ;  and  to 
that  end  a  synod  was  called  at  Rome  under  the  popedom 
of  Leo  IV."  1 

The  advocates  of  the  first-day  Sabbath  have  in 
all  ages  sought  for  a  law  capable  of  striking  ter- 
ror into  those  who  do  not  hallow  that  day.  Tliey 
still  continue  the  vain  endeavor.  But  if  they 
would  honor  the  day  which  God  set  apart  for 
the  Sabbath,  they  would  find  in  that  law  of  fire 
which  proceeded  from  his  right  hand  a  statute 
which  renders  all  human  legislation  entirely  un- 
necessary.^ 

At  this  synod  the  pope  took  the  matter  in 
hand  in  good  earnest.  Thus  Heylyn  testifies  that 
under  the  emperors,  Lewis  and  Lotharius,  a  synod 
was  held  at  Rome  A.  D.  853,  under  pope  Leo  IV., 

' '  Where  it  was  ordered  more  precisely  than  in  former 
times  that  no  man  should  from  tlienceforth  dare  to  make 
any  markets  on  the  Lord's  day,  no,  not  for  tilings  that 
were  to  eat  :  neither  to  do  any  kind  of  work  that  belonged 
to  husbandry.  Which  canon  being  made  at  Rome,  con- 
firmed at  Compeigne,  and  afterwards  incorporated  as  it 
was  into  the  body  of  the  canon  law,  became  to  be  admit- 
ted, without  further  question,  in  most  parts  of  Christen- 
dom ;  especially  when  the  popes  had  attained  their  height, 
and  brought  all  Christian  princes  to  be  at  their  devotion. 
For  then  the  people,  who  before  had  most  opposed  it, 
might  have  justly  said,  '  Behold  two  kings  stood  not  be- 
fore him,  how  then  shall  we  stand  V  Out  of  which  con- 
sternation all  men  presently  obeyed,  tradesmen  of  all 
sorts  being  brought  to  lay  by  their  labors  ;  and  amongst 
those,  the  miller,  though  his  work  was  easiest,  and  least 
of  all  required  his  presence."^ 

This  was  a   most   effectual   establishment   of 


1  Dialogue,  &c.  p.  261.  2  Ex.  20  :  8-11 ;  Dcut.  33  : 

^Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  7  ;  Morcr,  p.  272. 


SUNDAY  DURING  THE  DARK  AGES.       381 

first-day  sacredness.     Five   years   after  this  we 
read  as  follows  : — 

A.  D.  858.  ''The  Bulgarians  sent  some  questions  to 
Pope  Nicholas,  to  which  they  desired  answers.  And  that 
[a^jswer]  which  concerned  the  Lord's  day  was  that  they 
should  desist  from  all  secular  work,  etc."^ 

Morer  informs  us  respecting  tlie  civil  power, 
that, 

"  In  this  century  the  emperor  [of  Constantinople]  Leo, 
surnamed  the  philosopher,  restrained  the  works  of  hus- 
bandry, which,  according  to  Constantine's  toleration, 
were  permitted  in  the  east.  The  same  care  was  taken  in 
the  west,  by  Theodorius,  king  of  the  Bavarians,  who  made 
this  order,  that  '  If  any  person  on  the  Lord's  day  yoked 
his  oxen,  or  drove  his  wain,  his  right-side  ox  should  be 
forthwith  forfeited  ;  or  if  he  made  hay  and  carried  it  in, 
he  was  to  be  twice  admonished  to  desist,  which  if  he  did 
not,  he  was  to  receive  no  less  than  fifty  stripes. '  " " 

Of  Sunday  laws  in  England  in  this  century,  we 
read : — 

A.  D.  876.  "Alfred  the  Great,  was  the  first  who 
united  the  Saxon  Heptarchy,  and  it  was  not  the  least 
part  of  his  care  to  make  a  law  that  among  other  festivals 
this  day  more  especially  might  be  solemnly  kept,  because 
it  was  the  day  whereon  our  Saviour  Christ  overcame  the 
devil ;  meaning  Sunday,  which  is  the  weekly  memorial  of 
our  Lord's  resurrection,  whereby  he  overcame  death,  and 
him  who  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil.  And 
whereas  before  the  single  punishment  for  sacrilege  com- 
mitted on  any  other  day,  was  to  restore  the  value  of  the 
thing  stolen,  and  withal  lose  one  hand,  he  added  that  if 
any  person  was  found  guilty  of  this  crime  done  on  the 
Lord's  day,  he  should  be  doubly  punished. "  ^ 

Nineteen  years  later,  the  pope  and  his  council 
still  further  streng-thened  the  sacred  day.  The 
council  of  Friburgh  in  Germany,  A.  D.  895,  under 

1  Hist.  Sab.  part.  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  7  ;  Morer,  p.  272. 

2  l)ialogiie.s,  &c.  pp.  261,  262.  aid.  pp.  284,  285. 


382  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Pope  Formosus,  decreed  that  the  Lord's  day, 
men  ''were  to  spend  in  prayers,  and  devote 
wholly  to  the  service  of  God,  who  otherwise 
might  be  provoked  to  anger."  ^  The  work  of 
establishing  Sunday  sacredness  in  England  was 
carried  steadily  forward  : — 

''King  Athelston,  ...  in  the  year  928,  made  a  law  that 
there  should  be  no  marketing  or  civil  pleadings  on  the 
Lord's  day,  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  the  commod- 
ity, besides  a  fine  of  thirty  shillings  for  each  oflense."^ 

In  a  convocation  of  the  English  clergy  about 
this  time,  it  was  decreed  that  all  sorts  of  traffic 
and  the  holding  of  courts,  &c.,  on  Sunday  should 
cease.  "And  whoever  transgressed  in  any  of 
these  instances,  if  a  freeman,  he  was  to  pay  twelve 
orse,  if  a  servant,  be  severely  whipt."  We  are 
further  informed  that, 

' '  About  the  year  943,  Otho,  archbishop  of  Canterbuiy, 
had  it  decreed  that  above  all  things  the  Lord's  day  should 
be  kept  with  all  imaginable  caution,  according  to  the  canon 
and  ancient  practice."  ^ 

A.  D.  967.  King  Edgar  ' '  commanded  that  the  festival 
should  be  kept  from  three  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon  on 
Saturday,  till  day- break  on  Monday."* 

"  King  Ethelred  the  younger,  son  of  Edgar,  coming 
to  the  crown  about  the  year  1009,  called  a  general  council 
of  all  the  English  clergy,  under  Elfeagus,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  Wolstan,  archbishop  of  York.  And 
there  it  was  required  that  all  persons  in  a  more  zealous 
manner  should  observe  the  Sunday,  and  what  belonged 
to  it."^ 

Nor  did  the  Sunday  festival  fail  to  gain  a  foot- 
ing in  Norway.  Heylyn  tells  us  of  the  piety  of 
a  Norwegian  king  by  the  name  of  Olaus,  A.  D. 
1028. 

»  Dialogues,  &c.  p.  274.  ^Id.  p.  285.  aid.  p.  286. 

«lb.  lb.  »ld.  pp.  28(>,  287. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  383 

"  For  being  taken  up  one  Sunday  in  some  serious 
thoughts,  and  having  in  his  hand  a  small  walking  stick, 
he  took  his  knife  and  whittled  it  as  men  do  sometimes, 
when  their  minds  are  troubled  or  intent  on  business. 
And  when  it  had  been  told  him  as  by  way  of  jest  how  he 
had  trespassed  therein  against  the  Sabbath,  he  gathered 
the  small  chips  together,  put  them  upon  his  hand,  and 
set  fire  unto  them,  that  so,  saith  Crantzius,  he  might  re- 
venge that  on  himself  what  unawares  he  had  committed 
against  God's  commandment."^ 

In  Spain  also  the  work  went  forward.  A  coun- 
cil was  held  at  Coy,  in  Spain,  A.  D.  1050,  under 
Ferdinand,  king  of  Castile,  in  the  days  of  Pope 
Leo  IX.,  where  it  was  decreed  that  the  Lord's  day 
"was  to  be  entirely  consecrated  to  hearing  of 
mass."  ^ 

To  strengthen  the  sacredness  of  this  venerable 
day  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  the  doctors  of  the 
church  were  not  wanting.  Heylyn  makes  the 
following  statement : — 

"It  was  delivered  of  the  souls  in  purgatory  by  Petrus 
Damiani,  who  lived  A.  d.  1056,  that  every  Lord's  day 
they  were  manumitted  from  their  pains  and  fluttered  up 
and  down  the  lake  Avernus,  in  the  shape  of  birds."  ^ 

At  the  same  time,  another  argument  of  a  sim- 
ilar kind  was  brought  forward  to  render  the  ob- 
servance still  more  strict.  Morer  informs  us 
respecting  that  class  who  in  this  age  were  most 
zealous  advocates  of  Sunday  observance  : — 

"  Yet  still  the  others  went  on  in  their  way  ;  and  to  in- 
duce their  proselytes  to  spend  the  day  with  greater  exact- 
ness and  care,  they  brought  in  the  old  argument  of  com- 
passion and  charity  to  the  damned  in  hell,  who  during 
the  day,  have  some  respite  from  their  torments,  and  the 


1  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  v.  sect. 

2  Dialogues,  &c.  p.  274. 

»Hist.  Sab.  part  li.  chap.  v.  sect. 


384  HISTORY  OF  the  sap.cath. 

ease  and  liberty  they  have  is  more  or  less  according  to 
the  zeal  and  degrees  of  keeping  it  Avell. "  ^ 

If  therefore  they  would  strictly  observe  this 
sacred  festival,  their  friends  in  hell  would  reap 
the  benefit,  in  a  respite  from  their  torments  on 
that  day  !  In  a  council  at  Rome,  A.  D.  1078,  Pope 
Gregory  VI  I.  decreed  that  as  the  Sabbath  had 
been  long  regarded  as  a  fast  day,  those  who  de- 
sired to  be  Christians  should  on  that  day  abstain 
from  eating  meat.  ^  In  the  eastern  division  of 
the  Catholic  church,  in  the  eleventh  century,  the 
Sabbath  was  still  regarded  as  a  festival,  equal  in 
sacredness  with  Sunday.  Heylyn  contrasts  with 
this  the  action  of  the  western  division  of  that 
church : — 

''But  it  was  otherwise  of  okHn  the  church  of  Rome, 
where  they  did  labor  and  fast.  .  .  .  And  this,  with  little 
opposition  or  interruption,  save  that  which  had  been 
made  in  the  city  of  Rome  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century,  and  was  soon  crushed  by  Gregory  then  bishop 
there,  as  before  we  noted.  And  howsoever  Urban  of 
that  name  the  second,  did  consecrate  it  to  the  weekly 
service  of  the  blessed  virgin,  and  instituted  in  the  coun- 
cil held  at  Clermont,  a.  d.  1095,  that  our  lady's  office 
should  be  said  upon  it,  and  that  upon  that  day  all  Chris- 
tian folks  should  worship  her  with  their  best  devotion."^ 

It  would  seem  that  this  was  a  crowninor  indior- 
nity  to  the  Most  High.  The  memorial  of  the 
great  Creator  was  set  apart  as  a  festival  on  which 
to  worship  Mary,  under  tlie  title  of  mother  of 
God!  In  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  the 
king  of  England  was  admonished  not  to  suffer 
men  to  work  upon  Sunday.  Henry  II.  entered 
on  the  government  about  the  year  1155. 

'  Dialogues,  &c.  p.  HS. 

MJinius,  vol.  iii.  p.  128'),  ed.  1006. 

3  Hist.  Sab.  part  li.  chap.  v.  sect.  13. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  385 

"  Of  him  it  is  rei)orted  that  he  had  an  apparition 
at  Cardiff  (  ...  in  South  Wales  )  which  from  St.  Peter 
charged  him,  that  upon  Sundays  throughout  his  domin- 
ions, there  should  be  no  buying  or  selling,  and  no  servile 
work  done.'"^ 

The  sacreclness  of  Sunday  was  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently established,  because  a  divine  warrant  for 
its  observance  was  still  unprovided.  The  man- 
ner in  which  this  urgent  necessity  was  met  is 
related  by  Roger  Hoveden,  a  historian  of  high 
T-epute  who  lived  at  the  very  time  when  this 
much-needed  precept  was  furnished  by  the  pope. 
Hoveden  informs  us  that  Eustace  the  abbot  of 
Flaye  in  Normandy,  came  into  England  in  the 
year  1200,  to  preach  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and 
that  his  preaching  was  attended  by  many  w^on- 
derful  miracles.  He  was  very  earnest  in  behalf 
of  Sunday.     Thus  Hoveden  says  : — 

"  At  London  also,  and  many  other  places  throughout 
England,  he  effected  by  his  preaching,  that  from  that 
time  forward  people  did  not  dare  to  hold  market  of  things 
exposed  for  sale  on  the  Lord's  Day."^ 

But  Hoveden  tells  us  that  "  the  enemy  of  man- 
kind raised  against  this  man  of  God  the  minis- 
ters of  iniquity,"  and  it  seems  that  having  no 
commandment  for  Sunday  he  was  in  a  strait 
place.     The  historian  continues  : — 

''However,  the  said  abbot,  on  being  censured  by  the 
ministers  of  Satan,  was  unwilling  any  longer  to  molest 
the  prelates  of  England  by  his  preaching,  but  returned  to 
Normandy,  unto  his  place  whence  he  came."^ 

But  Eustace,  though  repulsed,  had  no  thought 
of  abandoning   the   contest.     He   had   no  com- 

1  Morer,  p.  288 ;  Hejl}''!!,  part  2.  chap.  vii.  sect.  6. 

2  Roger  de  Hovedeii's  Annals,  Bohn's  ed.  vol.  ii.  p-  487. 

3ld.  lb. 


386  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

mandment  from  the  Lord  when  he  came  into 
England  the  first  time.  But  one  year's  sojourn 
on  the  continent  was  sufficient  to  provide  that 
which  he  lacked.  Hoveden  tells  us  how  he  re- 
turned the  following  year  with  the  needed  pre- 
cept : — 

"In  the  same  year  [1201],  Eustace,  abbot  of  Flaye, 
returned  to  England,  and  preaching  therein  the  word  of 
the  Lord  from  city  to  city,  and  from  place  to  place,  for- 
bade any  person  to  hold  a  market  of  goods  on  sale  upon 
the  Lord's  day.  For  he  said  that  the  commandment 
under-written,  as  to  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day, 
had  come  down  from  Heaven  : — 

"THE  HOLY  COMMANDMENT  AS  TO  THE  LORD'S  DAY, 

' '  Which  came  from  Heaven  to  Jerusalem,  and  v/as 
found  upon  the  altar  of  Saint  Simeon,  in  Golgotha, 
where  Christ  was  crucified  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
The  Lord  sent  down  this  epistle,  which  was  found  upon 
the  altar  of  Saint  Simeon,  and  after  looking  upon  which, 
three  days  and  three  nights,  some  men  fell  upon  the 
earth,  imploring  mercy  of  God.  And  after  the  third 
hour,  the  patriarch  arose,  and  Acharias,  the  archbishop, 
and  they  opened  the  scroll,  and  received  the  holy  epis- 
tle from  God.  And  when  they  had  taken  the  same  they 
found  this  writing  therein  : — 

"  '  I  am  the  Lord,  who  commanded  you  to  observe  the 
holy  day  of  the  Lord,  and  ye  have  not  kept  it,  and  have 
not  repented  of  your  sins,  as  I  have  said  in  my  gospel, 
' '  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall 
not  pass  away. "  Whereas,  I  caused  to  be  preached  unto 
you  repentance  and  amendment  of  life,  you  did  not  be- 
lieve me,  I  have  sent  against  you  the  pagans,  who  have 
shed  your  blood  on  the  earth ;  and  yet  you  have  not  be- 
lieved ;  and,  because  you  did  not  keep  the  Lord's  day 
holy,  for  a  few  days  you  snfiered  hunger,  but  soon  I  gave 
you  fullness,  and  after  that  you  did  still  worse  again. 
Once  more,  it  is  my  will,  that  no  one,  from  the  ninth 
hour  on  Saturday  until  sunrise  on  Monday,  shall  do  any 
work  except  that  which  is  good. 

"*  And  if  any  person  shall  do  so,  he  shall  with  penance 
make  amends  for  the  same.     And  if  you  do  not  pay  ol)e- 


SUNDAY  DURING  THE  DARK  AGES.       387 

dience  to  tliis  command,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  and  I 
swear  unto  you,  by  my  seat  and  by  my  throne,  and  by 
the  cherubim  who  watch  my  holy  seat,  that  I  will  give 
you  my  commands  by  no  other  epistle,  but  I  will  open 
the  heavens,  and  for  rain  I  will  rain  upon  you  stones, 
and  wood,  and  hot  water,  in  the  night,  that  no  one  may 
take  precautions  against  the  same,  and  that  so  I  may  de- 
stroy all  wicked  men. 

"  '  This  do  I  say  unto  you ;  for  the  Lord's  holy  day,  you 
shall  die  the  death,  and  for  the  other  festivals  of  my 
saints  which  you  have  not  kept :  I  will  send  unto  you 
beasts  that  have  the  heads  of  lions,  the  hair  of  women, 
the  tails  of  camels,  and  they  shall  be  so  ravenous  that 
they  shall  devour  your  flesh,  and  you  shall  long  to  flee 
away  to  the  tombs  of  the  dead,  and  to  hide  yourselves 
for  fear  of  the  beasts  ;  and  I  will  take  away  the  light  of 
the  sun  from  before  your  eyes,  and  will  send  darkness 
upon  you,  that  not  seeing,  you  may  slay  one  another, 
and  that  I  may  remove  from  you  my  face,  and  may  not 
show  mercy  upon  you.  For  I  will  burn  the  bodies  and 
the  hearts  of  you,  and  of  all  of  those  who  do  not  keep 
as  holy  the  day  of  the  Lord. 

"  '  Hear  ye  my  voice,  that  so  ye  may  not  perish  in  the 
land,  for  the  holy  day  of  the  Lord.  Depart  from  evil, 
and  show  repentance  for  your  sins.  For,  if  you  do  not 
do  so,  even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  shall  you  perish. 
Now,  know  ye,  that  you  are  saved  by  the  prayers  of  my 
most  holy  mother,  Mary,  and  of  my  most  holy  angels, 
who  pray  for  you  daily.  I  have  given  unto  you  wheat 
and  wine  in  abundance,  and  for  the  same  ye  have 
not  obeyed  me.  For  the  widows  and  orphans  cry  unto 
you  daily,  and  unto  them  you  show  no  mercy.  The  pa- 
gans show  mercy,  but  you  show  none  at  all.  The  trees 
which  bear  fruit,  I  will  cause  to  be  dried  up  for  your 
sins  ;  the  rivers  and  the  fountains  shall  not  give  water. 

"  'I  gave  unto  you  a  law  in  Mount  Sinai,  which  you 
have  not  kept.  I  gave  you  a  law  with  mine  own  hands, 
which  you  have  not  observed.  For  you  I  was  born  into 
the  world,  and  my  festive  day  ye  knew  not.  Being 
wicked  men,  ye  have  not  kept  the  Lord's  day  of  my  res- 
urrection. By  my  right  hand  I  swear  unto  you,  that  if 
you  do  not  observe  the  Lord's  day,  and  the  festivals  of 
my  saints,  I  will  send  unto  you  the  pagan  nations,  that 
they  may  slay  you.     And  still  do  you  attend  to  the  busi- 


388  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ness  of  others,  and  take  no  consideration  of  this?  For 
this  will  I  send  against  you  still  worse  beasts,  who  shall 
devour  the  breasts  of  your  women.  I  will  curse  those 
who  on  the  Lord's  day  have  wrought  evil. 

"  '  Those  who  act  unjustly  towards  their  bretlu'en,  will 
I  curse.  Those  who  judge  unrighteously  the  jjoor  and 
the  orphans  upon  the  earth,  will  I  curse.  For  me  you 
forsake,  and  you  follow  the  prince  of  this  world.  Give 
heed  to  my  voice,  and  you  shall  have  the  blessing  of 
mercy.  But  you  cease  not  from  your  bad  works,  nor 
from  the  works  of  the  devil.  Because  you  are  guilty  of 
perjuries  and  adulteries,  therefore  the  nations  shall  sur- 
round you,  and  shall,  lilce  beasts,  devour  you.'"^ 

That  such  a  document  was  actually  brought 
into  England  at  this  time,  and  in  the  manner 
here  described,  is  so  amply  attested  as  to  leave 
no  doubt.^  Matthew  Paris,  like  Hoveden,  was 
actually  a  cotemporary  of  Eustace.  Hoveden 
properly  belongs  to  the  twelfth  century,  for  he 
died  shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Eustace  with  his 
roll.  But  Matthew  Paris  belongs  to  the  thir- 
teenth, as  he  was  but  young  at  the  time  this  roll 
(a.  d.  1201)  was  brought  into  England.  Both 
have  a  high  reputation  for  truthfulness.  In 
speaking  of  the  writers  of  that  century,  Mosheim 
bears  the  following  testimony  to  the  credibility 
of  Matthew  Paris  : — 

'^  Among  the  historians,  the  first  place  is  due  to  Mat- 
thew Paris,  a  writer  of  the  hlgliest  merit,  both  in  point  of 
knowledge  and  prudence, "  " 

1  Hoveden,  vol.  ii.  pp.  526-528. 

2  See  Matthew  Paris's  Historia  Major,  pp.200,  201,  ed.  1640; 
Binius'  Councils,  ad  ann.  1201,  vol.  i'ii,  pp.  1448,  1449  ;  Wilkins' 
Concilia  Magna)  liritanise  et  Ilibcrnjc,  vol.  i.  pp.  510,  511,  Lon- 
don, 17.'37;  Sir  David  Dalrymple's  Historical  Memorials,  pp.  7, 
8,  ed.  1769;  Heylyn's  History  of  the  Sabbath,  part  ii.  chap.  vii. 
sect.  5  ;  Morer's  Lord's  Dav,  pp.  288-290;  He.ssey's  Sunday 
pp.  90,  321  ;   Gilfillan's  Sabbath,  p.  399. 

^Maclaine's  Mosheim,  cent.  xiii.  part  ii.  chap,  i.  sect.  5. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  389 

And  Dr.  Murdock  says  of  him : — 

'^  He  is  accounted  the  best  historian  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
learned,  independent,  honest,  and  judicious."^ 

Matthew  Paris  relates  the  return  of  the  abbot 
Eustachius  (as  he  spells  the  name)  from  Nor- 
mandy, and  gives  us  a  copy  of  the  roll  which  he 
brought,  and  an  account  of  its  fall  from  Heaven 
as  related  by  the  abbot  himself.  He  also  tells  us 
how  the  abbot  came  by  it,  tracing  the  history  of 
the  roll  from  the  point  when  the  patriarch  gath- 
ered courage  to  take  it  into  his  hands,  till  the 
time  when  our  abbot  was  commissioned  to  bring 
it  into  England.     Thus  he  says  : — 

"But  when  the  patriarch  and  clergy  of  all  the  holy 
land  had  diligently  examined  the  contents  of  this  epistle, 
it  was  decreed  in  a  general  deliberation  that  the  epistle 
should  be  sent  to  the  judgment  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  see- 
ing that  whatever  he  decreed  to  be  done,  would  please  all. 
And  when  at  length  the  epistle  had  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  lord  pope,  immediately  he  ordained  heralds,  who 
being  sent  through  different  parts  of  the  world,  preached 
everywhere  the  doctrine  of  this  epistle,  the  Lord  working 
■\Wth  them  and  confirming  their  words  by  signs  following. 
Among  whom  the  abbot  of  Flay,  Eustachius  by  name,  a 
devout  and  learned  man,  having  entered  the  kingdom  of 
England  did  there  shine  with  many  miracles." 

Now  we  know  what  the  abbot  was  about  dur- 

1  Murdock's  Mosheim,  cent.  xiii.  part  ii.  chap.  i.  sect.  5,  note  19, 
2 Matthew  Paris's  Historia  Major,  p.  201.  His  words  are: 
"Cum  autem  Patriarcha  et  clems  omnis  Terra;  sanctae,  hunc 
epistolfe  tenorem  diligenter  examinassent  ;  communi  omnium 
deliberatione  decretum  est,  ut  epistola  ad  judicium  Romani 
Pcntificis  transmitteretur  ;  quatenus,  quicquid  ipse  agendum 
decrevit,  placset  universis.  Cumque  tandem  epistola  ad  domini 
Papte  notitiam  pervenisset,  continuo  prsedicatores  ordinavit;  qui 
per  diversas  mundi  partes  profecti,  pra;dicaverunt  ubique  epis- 
toliB  tenerem;  Domino  cooperante  et  sermonem  eorum  confir- 
mante,  sequentibus  signis.  Inter  quos  Abbos  de  Flai  nomine 
Eustachius,  vir  religiosus  et  literali  scientia  eruditis,  regnum 
Angliae  aggresaus  :  multis  ibidem  miracuhs  corrutcavit." — 
Library  o1  Harvard  Oollege. 


390  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ing  the  year  that  he  was  absent  from  England. 
He  could  not  establish  first-day  sacredness  by  his 
first  mission  to  England,  for  he  had  no  divine 
warrant  in  its  behalf.  He  therefore  retired  from 
the  mission  long  enough  to  make  known  the  neces- 
sities of  the  case  to  the  "  lord  pope."  But  wdien 
he  came  the  second  time  he  brought  the  divine 
mandate  for  Sunday,  and  with  it  the  commission 
of  the  pope,  authorizing  him  to  proclaim  that 
mandate  to  the  people,  and  informing  them  that 
it  was  sent  to  His  Holiness  from  Jerusalem  by 
those  who  saw  it  fall  from  Heaven.  Had  Eustace 
framed  this  document  himself,  and  then  forged  a 
commission  from  the  pope,  a  few  months  would 
have  discovered  the  imposture.  But  their  genuine- 
ness was  never  questioned  as  is  shown  by  the  pre- 
servation of  this  roll  by  the  best  historians  of  that 
time.  We  therefore  trace  the  responsibility  for  this 
roll  directly  to  the  pope  of  Rome.  The  statement 
of  the  pope  that  he  received  it  from  the  hands  of 
those  who  saw  it  fall  from  Heaven  is  the  guaranty 
given  by  His  Holiness  to  the  people  that  the  roll 
came  from  God.  The  historians  then  living,  who 
record  this  transaction,  were  able  to  satisfy  them- 
selves that  Eustace  brought  the  roll  from  the 
pope ;  and  they  believed  the  pope's  statement 
that  he  had  received  it  from  Heaven.  It  was  In- 
nocent III.  wdio  filled  the  office  of  pope  at  this 
time,  of  whom  Bower  speaks  thus  : — 

"  Innocent  was  perfectly  well  qualified  to  raise  the  papal 
power  and  authority  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  we  shall 
see  him  improving,  with  great  address,  every  opportunity 
that  offered  to  compass  that  end."^ 

Another  eminent  authority  makes  this  state- 
ment : — 

'  History  of  the  Popes,  \o\.  ii.  p.  'ir?;'. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  391 

' '  The  external  circumstances  of  his  time  also  furthered 
Innocent's  views,  and  enabled  him  to  make  his  pontificate 
the  most  marked  in  the  annals  of  Rome  ;  the  culminat- 
ing point  of  the  temporal  as  well  as  the  spiritual  suprem- 
acy of  the  Roman  See, "  ^ 

"  His  pontificate  may  be  fairly  considered  to  have  been 
the  period  of  the  highest  power  of  the  Roman  See. "  ^ 

The  dense  darkness  of  the  Dark  Ages  still 
covered  the  earth  when  that  pontiff  filled  the 
papal  throne  who  raised  the  papacy  to  its  high- 
est elevation.  Two  facts  worthy  of  much  thought 
should  here  be  named  in  connection  : — 

1.  The  first  act  of  papal  usurpation  was  by  an 
edict  in  behalf  of  Sunday.^ 

2.  The  utmost  hight  of  papal  usurpation  was 
marked  by  the  pope's  act  of  furnishing  a  divine 
precept  for  Sunday  observance. 

The  mission  of  Eustace  was  attested  by  mir- 
acles which  are  worthy  of  perusal  by  those  who 
believe  in  first-day  sacredness  because  their  fa- 
thers thus  believed.  Here  they  may  learn  what 
was  done  six  centuries  since,  to  fix  these  ideas  in 
the  minds  of  their  fathers.  Eustace  came  to 
York,  in  the  north  of  Eno^land,  and,  meetinof  an 
honorable  reception, 

' '  Preached  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  on  the  breaking 
of  the  Lord's  day  and  the  other  festivals,  and  imposed 
upon  the  people  penance  and  gave  absolution,  upon  con- 
dition that  in  future  they  would  pay  due  reverence  to 
the  Lord's  day  and  the  other  festivals  of  the  saints,  doing 
therein  no  servile  work. "  * 

"  Upon  this,  the  people  who  were  dutiful  to  God  at  his 
preaching,  vowed  before  God  that,  for  the  future,  on  the 


>  M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol.  iv.  p.  590. 

2 Id.  vol.  iv.  p.  592.  s  See  page  274  of  this  work. 

*  Hoveden,  vol.  ii.  p.  528. 


392  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Lord's  day,  they  would  neither  buy  nor  sell  any  thing, 
unless,  perchance,  victuals  and  drink  to  wayfarers."^ 

The  abbot  also  made  provision  for  the  collec- 
tion of  alms  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  for- 
bade the  use  of  tlie  churches  for  the  sale  of  goods, 
and  for  the  pleading  of  causes.  Upon  this,  the 
king  interfered  as  follows  : — 

'■ '  Accordingly,  through  these  and  other  warnings  of 
this  holy  man,  the  enemy  of  mankind  being  rendered  en- 
vious, he  put  it  into  the  heart  of  the  king  and  of  the 
princes  of  darkness  to  command  that  all  who  should  ob- 
serve the  before  stated  doctrines,  and  more  especially  all 
those  who  had  discountenanced  the  markets  on  the  Lord's 
day,  should  be  brought  before  the  king's  court  of  justice, 
to  make  satisfaction  as  to  the  observance  of  the  Lord's 
day."^ 

The  markets  on  the  Lord's  day,  it  seems,  were 
held  in  the  churches,  and  Eustace  was  attempt- 
ing to  supress  these  when  he  forbade  the  sale  of 
goods  in  the  churches.  And  now  to  confirm  the  au- 
thority of  the  roll,  and  to  neutralize  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  king,  some  very  extraordinary  prodigies 
were  reported.  The  roll  forbade  labor  "  from  the 
ninth  hour  (that  is  3  P.  M.)  on  Saturday  until 
sunrise  on  Monday."  Now  read  what  happened 
to  the  disobedient : — 

"One  Saturday,  a  certain  carpenter  of  Beverly,  who,  alt- 
er the  ninth  hour  of  the  day  was,  contrary  to  the  wholesome 
advice  of  his  wife,  making  a  wooden  wedge,  fell  to  the 
earth,  being  struck  with  paralysis.  A  woman  also,  a 
weaver,  who,  after  the  ninth  hour,  on  Saturday,  in  her 
anxiety  to  finish  a  part  of  the  web,  persisted  in  so  doing, 
fell  to  the  ground,  struck  with  paralysis,  and  lost  her 
voice.  At  Rafi'erton  also,  a  vill  belonging  to  Master 
Roger  Arundel,  a  man  made  for  himself  a  loaf  and  baked 
it  under  the  ashes,  after  the  ninth  hour  on  Saturday,  and 
ate  thereof,  and  put  part  of  it  by  till  the  morning,  but  when 

'  Iloveden,  vol.  ii.  p.  ."vjs.  2  jji.  p.  -,2ft. 


SUNDAY    DURING    TIIE    DAIIK    AGES.  393 

he  broke  it  on  the  Lord's  day  blood  started  forth  there- 
from ;  and  he  who  saw  it  bore  witness,  and  his  testimony- 
is  true. 

"At  Wakefield,  also,  one  Saturday,  while  a  miller  was, 
after  the  ninth  hour,  attending  to  grinding  his  corn,  there 
suddenly  came  forth,  instead  of  flour,  such  a  torrent  of 
blood,  that  the  vessel  placed  beneath  was  nearly  filled 
with  blood,  and  the  mill-wheel  stood  immovable,  in  spite 
of  the  strong  rush  of  the  water  ;  and  those  who  beheld 
it  wondered  thereat,  saying,  '  Spare  us,  O  Lord,  spare 
thy  people!' 

"Also,  in  Lincolnshire  a  woman  had  prepared  some 
dough,  and  taking  it  to  the  oven  after  the  ninth  hour  on 
Saturday,  she  placed  it  in  the  oven,  which  was  then  at  a 
very  great  heat  ;  but  when  she  took  it  out,  she  found  it 
raw,  on  which  she  again  put  it  into  the  oven,  which  was 
very  hot  ;  and,  both  on  the  next  day,  and  on  Monda^^, 
when  she  supposed  that  she  should  find  the  loaves  baked, 
she  found  raw  dough. 

"  In  the  same  county  also,  when  a  certain  woman  had 
prepared  her  dough,  intending  to  carry  it  to  the  oven,  her 
husband  said  to  her,  'It  is  Saturday,  and  it  is  now  past 
the  ninth  hour,  put  it  one  side  till  Monday;'  on  which 
the  woman,  obeying  her  husband,  did  as  he  commanded; 
and  so,  having  covered  over  the  dough  with  a  linen  cloth, 
on  coming  the  next  day  to  look  at  the  dough,  to  see 
whether  it  had  not,  in  rising,  through  the  yeast  that  was 
in  it,  gone  over  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  she  found  there 
the  loaves  ready  made  by  the  divine  will,  and  well  baked, 
without  any  fire  of  the  material  of  this  world.  This  was 
a  change  wrought  by  the  right  hand  of  Him  on  high."  ^ 

The  historian  laments  that  these  miracles  were 
lost  upon  the  people,  and  that  they  feared  the 
king  more  than  they  feared  God,  and  so  "  like  a 
doof  to  his  vomit,  returned  to  the  holdinor  of 
markets  on  the  Lord's  day."  ^  Such  was  the  first 
attempt  in  England  after  the  apparition  of  St. 
Peter,  A.  D.  1155,  to  supply  divine  authority  for 
Sunday  observance.  "  It  shows,"  as  Morer  quaint- 

1  Hoveden,  vol.  ii.  pp.  '^2'.\  530.  •-  Id.  lb. 

Sabbath  History.  'riH 


39i  HISTORY    OF^  THE    SABBATH. 

ly  observes,  "  how  industrious  men  were  in  those 
times  to  have  this  great  day  solemnly  observed."^ 
And  Gilfillan,  who  has  occasion  to  mention  the 
story  of  the  roll  from  Heaven,  has  not  one  word 
of  condemnation  for  the  pious  fraud  in  behalf  of 
Sunday,  but  he  simply  speaks  of  our  abbot  as 
"  This  ardent  person."  ^ 

Two  years  after  the  arrival  of  Eustace  in  Eng- 
land with  his  roll,  A.  D.  1203,  a  council  was  held 
in  Scotland  concerning  the  introduction  and 
establishment  of  the  Lord's  day  in  that  kingdom.^ 
The  roll  that  had  fallen  from  Heaven  to  supply 
the  lack  of  scriptural  testimony  in  behalf  of  this 
d^'',  was  admirably  adapted  to  the  business  of 
this  council,  though  Dr.  Heylyn  informs  us  that 
the  Scotch  were  so  ready  to  comply  with  the 
pope's  wishes  that  tlie  packet  from  the  court  of 
Heaven  and  the  accompanying  miracles  were  not 
needed.^  Yet  Morer  asserts  that  the  packet  was 
actually  produced  on  this  occasion  : — 

"  To  that  end  it  was  again  produced  and  read  in  a 
council  of  Scotland,  held  under  [pope]  Innocent  III,  .  .  . 
A.  D.  1203,  in  the  reign  of  King  William,  who  .  .  .  passed 
it  into  a  law  that  Saturday  from  twelve  at  noon  ought  to 
be  accounted  holy,  and  that  no  man  shall  deal  in  such 
worldly  business  as  on  feast  days  Avere  forbidden.  As 
also  that  at  the  tolling  of  a  bell,  the  people  were  to  be 
employed  in  holy  actions,  going  to  sermons  and  the  like, 
and  to  continue  thus  until  Monday  morning,  a  penalty 
being  laid  on  those  who  did  the  contrary.  About  the 
year  1214,  which  was  eleven  years  after,  it  was  again  en- 
acted, in  a  parliament  at  Scone,  by  Alexander  III.,  king 
of  the  Scots,  that  none  should  fish  in  any  waters,  from 

1  Dialogues,  &c.  p.  200.  a  Gilfillan's  Sabbath,  p.  399. 

^Binius's  Coinicils,  vol.  iii.  pp.  1448,  1449;  Heyljn,  part  ii. 
chap.  vii.  sect.  7. 

*  Ileylyn,  partii.  chap.  vii.  sect.  7. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  6))0 

* 

Saturday  after  evening  prayer,  till  sunrising  on  Monday, 
which  was  afterward  confirmed  by  King  James  1/ 

The  sacredness  of  this  papal  Lord's  day  seems 
to  have  been  more  easily  established  by  taking 
in  with  it  a  part  of  the  ancient  Sabbath.  The 
work  of  establishing  this  institution  was  every- 
where carried  steadily  forward.  Of  England  we 
read : — 

"  In  the  year  1237,  Henry  III.  being  king,  and  Edmund 
de  Abendon  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a  constitution 
was  made,  requiring  every  minister  to  forbid  his  parish- 
ioners the  frequenting  of  markets  on  the  Lord's  day,  and 
leaving  the  church,  where  they  ought  to  meet  and  spend 
the  day  in  prayer  and  hearing  the  word  of  God.  And 
this  on  pain  of  excommunication."^ 

Of  France  we  are  informed  : — 

"  The  council  of  Lyons  sat  about  the  year  1244,  and  it 
restrained  the  people  from  their  ordinary  work  on  the 
Lord's  day,  and  other  festivals  on  pain  of  ecclesiastical 
censures." 

A.  D.  1282.  The  council  of  Angeirs  in  France  ' '  for- 
bid millers  by  water  or  otherwise  to  grind  their  corn  from 
Saturday  evening  till  Sunday  evening."  ^ 

Nor  were  the  Spa];iiards  backward  in  this 
w^ork : — 

A.  D.  1322.  This  year  ' '  a  synod  was  called  at  Valla- 
dolid  in  Castile,  and  then  was  ratified  what  was  formerly 
required,  that  '  none  should  follow  husbandry,  or  exer- 
cise himself  in  any  mechanical  employment  on  the  Lord's 
day,  or  other  holy  days,  but  where  it  was  a  work  of  ne- 
cessity or  charity,  of  which  the  minister  of  the  i)arish 
was  to  be  judge.'  "* 

The  rulers  of  the  church  and  realm  of  England 
were  diligent  in  establishing  the  sacredness  of 
this  day.     Yet  the  following  statutes  show  that 

1  Dialogues,  &c.  pp.  290,  291.  ^Id.  p.  291. 

3  Id.  p.  27r>.  *  Id.  lb. 


396  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

they  were  not  aware  of  any  Bible  authority  for 
enforcing  its  observance  : — 

A.  D,  1358.  "  Istippe,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  with 
very  great  concern  and  zeal,  expresses  himself  thus  :  '  We 
have  it  from  the  relation  of  very  credible  persons,  that  in 
divers  places  within  our  province,  a  very  naughty,  nay, 
damnable  custom  has  prevailed,  to  hold  fairs  and  markets 
on  the  Lord's  day.  .  .  .  Wherefore  by  virtue  of  ca- 
nonical obedience,  we  strictly  charge  and  command  yoiu' 
brotherhood,  that  if  you  find  your  people  faulty  in  the 
premises,  you  forthwith  admonish  or  cause  them  to  be 
admonished  to  refrain  going  to  markets  or  fairs  on  the 
Lord's  day.  .  .  .  And  as  for  such  who  are  obstinate 
and  speak  or  act  against  you  in  this  particular,  you  must 
endeavor  to  restrain  them  by  ecclesiastical  censures  and 
by  all  lawful  means  put  a  stop  to  these  extravagances.' 

' '  Nor  was  the  civil  power  silent  ;  for  much  about  that 
time  King  Edward  made  an  act  that  wool  should  not  be 
shown  at  the  staple  on  Sundays  and  other  solemn  feasts 
in  the  year.  Li  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VI. ,  Dr.  Staf- 
ford being  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a.  d.  1444,  it  was 
decreed  that  fairs  and  markets  should  no  more  be  kept 
in  churches  and  church-yards  on  the  Lord's  day,  or  other 
festivals,  except  in  time  of  harvest,"^ 

Observe  that  fairs  and  markets  were  held  in 
the  churches  in  England  on  Sundays  as  late  as 
1444  !  And  even  later  than  this  such  fairs  were 
allowed  in  harvest  time.  On  the  European  con- 
tinent the  sacredness  of  Sunday  was  persistently 
urged.  The  council  of  Bourges  urges  its  observ- 
ance as  follows : — 

A.  D.  1532.  "  The  Lord's  day  and  other  festivals 
Avere  instituted  for  this  purpose,  that  faithful  Christians 
abstaining  from  external  work,  might  more  freely,  and 
with  greater  piety  devote  themselves  to  God's  worship." ' 

They  did  not  seem  to  be  aware  of  the  fact 
however  that  when  the  fear  of  God  is  taught  by 

'  Id.  pp.  2\K),  2',ii.  -'Id.  p.  27'.'. 


SUNDAY    DURING    THE    DARK    AGES.  397 

the  precepts  of  men  such  worship  is  vain.^  The 
council  of  Rheims,  which  sat  the  next  3^ear,  made 
this  decree : — 

A,  D.  1533.  '^  Let  the  people  assemble  at  tlieir  parish 
churches  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  other  holidays,  and  be 
present  at  mass,  sermons  and  vespers.  Let  no  man  on 
these  days  give  himself  to  plays  or  dances,  especially 
during  service."  And  the  historian  adds  :  "  Li  the  same 
year  another  synod  at  Tours,  ordered  the  Lord's  day  and 
other  holidays  to  be  reverently  observed  under  pain  of 

excommunication."  ^ 

« 

A  council  which  assembled  the  following  year 
thus  frankly  confessed  the  divine  origin  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  the  human  origin  of  that  festival 
which  has  supplanted  it : — 

A.  D.  1584.  "  Let  all  Christians  remember  that  the 
seventh  day  was  consecrated  by  God,  and  hath  been  receiv- 
ed and  observed,  not  only  by  the  Jews,  but  by  all  others 
who  pretend  to  worship  God  ;  though  we  Christians  have 
changed  their  Sabbath  into  the  Lord's  day.  A  day  there- 
fore to  be  kept,  by  forbearing  all  worldly  business,  suits, 
contracts,  carriages,  &c.,  and  by  sanctifying  the  rest  of 
mind  and  body,  in  the  contemplation  of  God  and  things 
divine,  we  are  to  do  nothing  but  works  of  charity,  say 
prayers,  and  sing  psalms. "  ^ 

We  have  thus  traced  Sunday  observance  in  the 
Catholic  church  down  to  a  period  subsequent  to 
the  Reformation.  That  it  is  an  ordinance  of  man 
which  has  usurped  the  place  of  the  Bible  Sabbath 
is  most  distinctly  confessed  by  the  council  last 
quoted.  Yet  they  endeavor  to  make  amends  for 
their  violation  of  the  Sabbath  by  spending  Sun- 
day in  charity,  prayers,  and  psalms  :  a  course  too 
often  adopted  at  the  present  time  to  excuse  the 
violation  of  the  fourth  commandment.     Who  can 

1  Isa.  29  :  13  ;  Matt.  15  ;  9.  sMorer,  p.  280. 

3  Id.  pp.  281,  282. 


398  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

read  this  long  list  of  Sanday  laws,  not  from  the 
"  one  La\Y-giver  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  de- 
stroy," but  from  popes,  emperors,  and  councils, 
without  adopting  the  sentiment  of  Neander: 
"  The  festival  of  Sunday,  like  all  other  festivals, 
was  always  only  a  human  ordinance  ?" 


CHAPTER    J?XI 


TRACES  OF  THE  SABBATH  DURING  THE  DARK  AGES. 

The  Dark  Ages  defined — Difficulty  of  tracing  the  people  of 
God  during  this  period--The  Sabbath  effectually  suppressed 
in  the  Catholic  church  at  the  close  of  the  fifth  century — 
Sabbath-keepers  in  Rome  about  a.  d.  600 — The  Culdees  of 
Great  Britain — Columba  probably  a  Sabbath-keeper — The 
Waldenses — Their  antiquity — Their  wide  extent — Their 
peculiarities— Sabbatarian  character  of  a  part  of  this  peo- 
ple— Important  facts  respecting  the  Waldenses  and  the 
Romanists — Other  bodies  of  Sabbatarians — The  Cathari — 
The  Arnoldistre — The  Passaginians — The  Petrobruysians 
— Gregory  VII.  about  a.  d,  1074  condemns  the  Sabbath- 
keepers — The  Sabbath  in  Constantinople  in  the  eleventh 
century — A  portion  of  the  Anabaptists — Sabbatarians  in 
Abyssinia  and  Ethiopia — The  Armenians  of  the  East  In- 
dies— The  Sabbath  retained  through  the  Dark  Ages  by 
those  who  were  not  in  the  communion  of  the  Romish  church. 

With  the  accession  of  the  Roman  bishop  to  su- 
premacy began  the  Dark  Ages  ;^  and  as  he  increased 
in  strength,  tlie  gloom  of  darkness  settled  with 
increasing  intensity  upon  the  world.  TJie  high- 
est elevation  of  the  papal  power  marks  the  latest 
point  in  the  Dark  Ages  before  the  first  gray  dawn 

J  Mr.  Croly  says  :  "With  the  title  of  'Universal  Bishop/  the 
power  of  the  papacy,  and  the  Dark  Ages,  alike  began." — Croiy  on 
the  Aj'OcaO/psr,  p.  17m. 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.        399 

of  twilight.^  That  power  was  providentially 
weakened  prepara^tory  to  the  reformation  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  when  the  light  of  advancing 
day  began  to  manifestly  dissipate  the  gross  dark- 
ness which  covered  the  earth.  The  difficulty  of 
tracing  the  true  peojjle  of  God  through  this  pe- 
riod is  well  set  forth  in  the  following  language 
of  Benedict : — 

'•'As  scarcely  any  fragment  of  their  history  remains, 
all  we  know  of  them  is  from  accounts  of  their  enemies, 
which  were  always  littered  in  the  style  of  censure  and 
complaint  ;  and  without  which  we  should  not  have 
known  that  millions  of  them  ever  existed.  It  was  the 
settled  policy  of  Rome  to  obliterate  every  vestige  of  op- 
position to  her  doctrines  and  decrees  ;  everything  her- 
etical, whether  persons  or  writings,  by  which  the  faithful 
would  be  liable  to  be  contaminated  and  led  astray.  In 
conformity  to  this  their  fixed  determination,  all  books 
and  records  of  their  opposers  were  hunted  up  and  com- 
mitted to  the  flames.  Before  the  art  of  printing  was  dis- 
covered in  the  fifteenth  century,  all  books  were  made 
with  the  pen  ;  the  copies,  of  course,  were  so  few  that 
their  concealment  was  much  more  difficult  than  it  would 
be  now  ;  and  if  a  few  of  them  escaped  the  vigilance  of 
the  inquisitors,  they  would  soon  be  worn  out  and  gone. 
None  of  them  could  be  admitted  and  preserved  in  the 
public  libraries  of  tlie  Catholics,  from  the  ravages  of  time 
and  of  the  hands  of  barbarians  with  which  all  parts  of 
Europe  were  at  difi'erent  periods  overwhelmed."" 

The  first  five  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  ac- 
complished the  suppression  of  the  Sabbath  in 
those  churches  which  were  under  the  special  con- 
trol of  the  Eoman  pontiff:  Thenceforward  we 
must  look  for  the  observers  of  the  Sabbath  out- 
side  the  communion  of  the  church  of  Rome.  It 
was  predicted  that  the  Koman  power  should  cast 

iM'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol.  iv.  p.  501. 
2  History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination,  p.  50,   ed.  1849. 


400  HISTORY    OK    THE    SABBATH. 

down  the  truth  to  the  ground.^  The  Scriptures 
set  forth  the  law  of  God  as  his  truth.^  The  Dark 
Ages  were  the  result  of  this  work  of  the  great 
apostasy.  So  dense  and  all-pervading  was  the 
darkness,  that  God's  pure  truth  was  more  or  less 
obscured  even  with  the  true  people  of  God  in 
their  places  of  retirement. 

About  the  year  600,  as  we  have  seen,  there 
was  in  the  city  of  Rome  itself  a  class  of  Sabbath- 
keeping  Christians  who  were  very  strict  in  the 
observance  of  the  fourth  commandment.  It  has 
been  said  of  them  that  they  joined  with  this 
a  strict  abstinence  from  labor  on  Sunday.  But 
Dr.  Twisse,  a  learned  first-day  writer  who  has 
particularly  examined  the  record  respecting  them, 
asserts  that  this  Sunday  observance  pertained  to 
"other  persons,  different  from  the  former."  ^  These 
Sabbath-keepers  were  not  Romanists,  and  the 
pope  denounced  them  in  strong  language. 

The  Christians  of  Great  Britain,  before  the 
mission  of  Augustine  to  that  country,  A.  D.  596, 
were  not  in  subjection  to  the  bishop  of  Rome. 
They  were  in  an  eminent  degree  Bible  Christians. 
They  are  thus  described  : — 

''The  Scottish  church,  when  it  first  meets  the  eye  of 
civilization,  is  not  Romish,  nor  even  prelatical.  AVhen 
the  monk  Augustine,  with  his  forty  missionaries,  in  the 
time  of  the  Saxon  Heptarchy,  came  over  to  Britain  under 
the  auspices  of  Gregory,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  to  convert 
the  barbarian  Saxons,  he  found  the  northern  part  of  the 
island  already  well-nigh  filled  with  Christians  and  Chris- 
tian institutions.  These  Christians  were  the  Culdees, 
whose  chief  seat  was  the  little  island  of  Hi  or  lona,  on 
the  western  coast  of  Scotland.  An  Irish  presbyter,  Co- 
lumba,  feeling  himself  stirred  with  missionary  zeal,  and 

'  Dan.  8  :  12.  aPs.  110  :  U2,  151. 

3  See  chap.  xx.  of  this  work. 


THE  SABBATH  IX  THE  DARK  AGES.        401 

doubtless  knowing  the  wretched  condition  of  the  savage 
Scots  and  Picts,  in  the  year  565,  took  with  him  tw^elve 
other  missionaries,  and  passed  over  to  Scotland.  They 
fixed  their  settlement  on  the  little  island  just  named,  and 
from  that  point  became  the  missionaries  of  all  Scotland, 
and  even  penetrated  into  England/ 

"The  people  in  the  south  of  England  converted  by 
Augustine  and  his  assistants,  and  those  in  the  north  who 
had  been  won  by  Culdee  labor,  soon  met,  as  Christian 
conquest  advanced  from  both  sides  ;  and  when  they  came 
together,  it  was  soon  seen  that  Roman  and  Culdee  Chris- 
tianity very  decidedly  differed  in  a  great  many  respects. 
The  Culdees,  for  the  most  part,  had  a  simple  and  primi- 
tive form  of  Christianity,  while  Rome  presented  a  vast 
accumulation  of  superstitions,  and  was  arrayed  in  her 
well-known  pomp." 

"The  Culdee  went  to  lona  that  in  quiet,  with  medita- 
tion, study,  and  prayer,  he  might  fit  himself  for  going 
out  into  the  world  as  a  missionary.  Indeed,  lona  was  a 
great  mission  institute,  where  preachers  were  trained  who 
evangelized  the  rude  tribes  of  Scotland  in  a  very  short 
time.  To  have  done  such  a  work  as  this  in  less  than 
half  a  century  implies  apostolic  activity,  purity,  and  suc- 
cess,^ 

"After  the  success  of  Agustine  and  his  monks  in  Eng- 
land, the  Culdees  had  shut  themselves  uj)  within  the 
limits  of  Scotland,  and  had  resisted  for  centuries  all  the  ef- 
forts of  Rome  to  win  them  over.  At  last,  however,  they 
were  overthrown  by  their  own  rulers."* 

There  is  strong  incidental  evidence  that  Co- 
lumba,  the  leading  minister  of  his  time  among 
the  Culdees,  was  an  observer  of  the  ancient  Sab- 
bath of  the  Bible.  On  this  point  I  quote  two 
standard  authors  of  the  Roman  Catholics.  They 
certainly  have  no  motive  to  put  such  words  as  I 
here  quote,  fradulently  into  the  mouth  of  Columba, 


JM'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,   vol.   ii.   pp.    600,  601 
D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation,  book  xvii. 
2M*Chntock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol.  ii.  p.  601. 
3 Id.  lb.  "Id.  lb. 


402  IIISTOllY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

for  they  claim  him  as  a  saint,  and  they  are  no 
friends  of  the  Bible  Sabbath.  Nor  can  we  see 
how  Columba  could  have  used  these  words  with 
satisfaction,  as  he  evidently  did,  when  dying, 
had  he  all  his  life  long  been  a  violator  of  the  an- 
cient rest-day  of  the  Lord.  Here  are  the  words 
of  Dr.  Alvan  Butler : — 

"  Having  continued  his  labors  in  Scotland  thirty-four 
years,  he  clearly  and  openly  foretold  his  death,  and  on 
Saturday  the  ninth  of  June  said  to  his  disciple  Diermit : 
'  This  day  is  called  the  Sabbath,  that  is,  the  day  of  rest, 
and  such  will  it  truly  be  to  me  ;  for  it  will  put  an  end  to 
my  labors.'"^ 

Another  distinofuished  Catholic  author  chives 
us  his  dying  words  thus  : — 

' '  To-day  is  Saturday,  the  day  which  the  Holy  Script- 
lu-es  call  the  Sabbath,  or  rest.  And  it  will  be  truly  my 
day  of  rest,  for  it  shall  be  the  last  of  my  laborious  life."" 

These  words  show,  1.  That  Columba  believed 
that  Saturday  was  the  true  Bible  Sabbath.  2. 
That  he  did  not  believe  the  Sabbath  had  been 
changed  to  Sunday.  3.  That  this  confession  of 
faith  respecting  the  Bible  Sabbath  was  made 
with  evident  satisfaction,  though  in  view  of  im- 
mediate death.  J3id  any  first-day  man  ever  re- 
cur with  pleasure  on  his  death-bed  to  the  fact 
that  Saturday  is  the  Bible  Sabbath  ? 

But  Gilfillan  quotes  these  words  of  Columba 
as  spoken  in  behalf  of  Sunday  !  In  giving  a  list 
of  eminent  men  who  have  asserted  the  change  of 
the  Sabbath,  or  who  have  called  Sunday  the  Sab- 
bath, and  have  tauorht  that  it  should  be  observed 


>  l>iitler's  liivos  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs,  and  principal  Saints, 
article,  St.  Cohiinba,  a.  d.  iir*?. 
2  The  Monks  of  the  West,  vol.  ii.  p.  1<U. 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.      403 

as  a  day  of  sacred  rest,  be  brings  "in   Columba 
thus : — 

"The  testimony  of  Columba  is  specially  interesting, 
as  it  expresses  the  feelings  of  the  heart  at  a  moment 
Avhich  tests  the  sincerity  of  faith,  and  the  value  of  a  creed  : 
*  This  day, '  he  said  to  his  servant,  '  in  the  sacred  volume 
is  called  the  Sabbath,  that  is,  rest ;  and  will  indeed  be  a 
Sabbath  to  me,  for  it  is  to  me  the  last  day  of  this  toil- 
some life,  the  day  on  which  I  am  to  rest  (sabbatize),  after 
all  my  labors  and  troubles,  for  on  this  coming  sacred 
night  of  the  Lord  {Dominica  node),  at  the  midnight  hour, 
I  shall,  as  the  Scriptures  speak,  go  the  way  of  my  fa- 
thers.' "^ 

But  this  day  wliicli  Columba  said  "  will  indeed 
be  a  Sabbath  to  me  "  was  not  Sunday  but  Sat- 
urday. 

Among  the  dissenters  from  the  Romish  church 
in  the  period  of  the  Dark  Ages,  the  first  place 
perhaps  is  due  to  the  Waldenses,  both  for  their 
antiquity  and  the  wide  extent  of  their  influence 
and  doctrine.  Benedict  quotes  from  their  ene- 
mies respecting  the  antiquity  of  their  origin : — 

"We  have  already  observed  from  Claudius  Seyssel,  the 
popish  archbishop,  that  one  Leo  was  charged  with  origin- 
ating the  Waldensian  heresy  in  the  valleys,  in  the  days 
of  Constantino  the  Great.  When  those  severe  measures 
emanated  from  the  Emperor  Honorious  against  re-bap- 
tizers,  the  Baptists  left  the  seat  of  opulence  and  power, 
and  sought  retreats  in  the  country,  and  in  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont ;  which  last  place  in  particular  became  their 
retreat  from  imperial  oppression."  ^ 

Dean  Waddington  quotes  the  following  from 
Rainer  Saccho,  a  popish  writer,  who  had  the  best 
means  of  information  respecting  them  : — 

"There  is  no  sect  so  dangerous  as  the  Leonists,  for 
three  reasons  :  first,  it  is .  the  most  ancient — some  say  as 
old  as  Sylvester  [pope  in  Constantine's  time],  others  as 

1  Gilfillau's  Sabbath,  p.  S81>.  2  Id.  pp.  32,  80. 


404  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABB.VTH. 

the  apostles  themselves.  Secondly,  it  is  very  generally 
disseminated  :  there  is  no  country  where  it  has  not  gained 
some  footing.  Thirdly,  while  other  sects  are  profane  and 
blasphemous,  this  retains  the  utmost  show  of  piety  ;  they 
live  justly  before  men,  and  believe  nothing  respecting 
God  which  is  not  good."^ 

Mr.  Jones  gives  Sacclio's  own  opinion  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  Their  enemies  confirm  their  great  antiquity.  Rein- 
erius  Saccho,  an  inquisitor,  and  one  of  their  most  cruel 
persecutors,  who  lived  only  eighty  years  after  Waldo  [a. 
D.  IIGO],  admits  that  the  Waldenses  flourished  five  hun- 
dred years  before  that  preacher.  Gretser,  the  Jesuit, 
who  also  wrote  against  the  Waldenses,  and  had  examined 
the  subject  fully,  not  only  admits  their  great  antiquity, 
but  declares  his  firm  belief  that  the  Toulousians  and  Al- 
bigenses  condemned  in  the  years  1177  and  1178,  were  no 
other  than  the  Waldenses.  "- 

Jortin  dates  their  withdrawal  into  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  Alps  as  follows  : — 

' '  A.  D.  601.  In  the  seventh  century,  Christianity  was 
propagated  in  China  by  the  Nestorians  ;  and  the  Valden- 
ses,  who  abhorred  the  papal  usurptions,  are  supposed  to 
have  settled  themselves  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont. 
Monkery  flourished  prodigiously,  and  the  monks  and 
popes  were  in  the  firmest  union,"" 

President  Edwards  says  : — 

**  Some  of  the  popish  writers  themselves  own,  that  this 
l^eople  never  submitted  to  the  church  of  Rome.  One  of 
the  popish  writers,  speaking  of  the  Waldenses,  says.  The 
lieresy  of  the  Waldenses  is  the  oldest  heresy  in  the  world. 
It  is  supposed  that  they  first  betook  themselves  to  this 
place  among  the  mountains,  to  hide  themselves  from  the 
severity  of  the  heathen  persecutions  which  existed  before 
Constantine  the  Great.  And  thus  the  woman  fled  into 
the  wilderness  from  the  face  of  the  serpent.     Rev.  12  :  G, 

1  Waddinffton's  History  of  the  Church,  part  iv.  chap,  xviii. 
■■'Jones's  llistorv  of  the  Church,  vol.  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  1. 
^.Jortin's  Keel.  /list.  vol.  ii.  sect.  38. 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.       405 

14.  '  And  to  the  woman  were  given  two  wings  of  a  great 
eagle,  that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness,  into  her 
place,  where  she  is  nourished  for  a  time,  and  times,  and 
half  a  time,  from  the  face  of  the  serpent. '  The  people 
being  settled  there,  their  posterity  continued  [there]  from 
age  to  age  ;  and  being,  as  it  were,  by  natural  walls,  as 
well  as  by  God's  grace,  separated  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  they  never  partook  of  the  overflowing  corruption."^ 

Benedict  makes  other  quotations  relative  to 
their  origin : — 

''Theodore  Belvedre,  a  popish  monk,  says  that  the 
heresy  had  always  been  in  the  valleys.  In  the  preface  to 
the  French  Bible  the  translators  say  that  they  [the  Wal- 
denses]  have  always  had  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  heav- 
enly truth  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ever  since 
they  were  enriched  with  the  same  by  the  apostles  ;  having 
in  fair  MSS.  preserved  the  entire  Bible  in  their  native 
tongue  from  generation  to  generation.  "- 

Of  the  extent  to  which  they  spread  in  the 
countries  of  Europe,  Benedict  thus  speaks  : — 

"  In  the  thirteenth  century,  from  the  accounts  of  Cath- 
olic historians,  all  of  whom  speak  of  the  Waldenses  in 
terms  of  complaint  and  reproach,  they  had  founded  indi- 
vidual churches,  or  were  spread  out  in  colonies  in  Italy, 
Spain,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Bohemia,  Poland, 
Lithuania,  Albania,  Lombardy,  Milan,  Romagna,  Vi- 
cenza,  Florence,  Yeleponetine,  Constantinople,  Philadel- 
phia, Sclavonia,  Bulgaria,  Diognitia,  Livonia,  Sarmatia, 
Croatia,  Dalmatia,  Briton  and  Piedmont."^ 

And  Dr.  Edgar  gives  the  words  of  an  old  his- 
torian as  follows : — 

"The  Waldensians,  says  Popliner,  spread,  not  only 
through  France,  but  also  through  nearly  all  the  European 
coasts,  and  appeared  in  Gaul,  Spain,  England,  Scotland, 
Italy,  Germany,  Bohemia,  Saxony,  Poland,  and  Lithua- 


1  Edward's  Hist,  of  Redemption,  period  iii.  part  iv.  sect.  2. 

2  Hist.  Bapt.  Denom.  p.  33.  ^  if],  p^  31. 

<  Variations  ofPoperv,  p.  52. 


406  HISTORY    OF    THK    SABBATH. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  their  enemies, 
they  were  to  some  extent  divided  among  them- 
selves. Dr.  Allix  quotes  an  old  Romish  writer 
who  says  of  that  portion  of  them  who  were  called 
Cathari : — 

"  They  are  also  divided  amongst  themselves;  so  v.'hat 
some  of  them  say  is  again  denied  by  others."^ 

And  Crosby  makes  a  similar  statement : — 

''  There  were  several  sects  of  Waldenses  or  Albigehses, 
like  as  there  are  of  Dissenters  in  England.  Some  of 
these  did  deny  all  baptism,  others  only  the  baptism  of 
infants.  That  many  of  them  were  of  this  latter  opinion, 
is  affirmed  in  several  histories  of  this  people,  as  well  an- 
cient as  modern. "  '^ 

Some  of  their  enemies  affirm  that  they  reject 
the  Old  Testament ;  but  others,  with  much  greater 
truthfulness,  bear  a  very  different  testimony.^ 
Thus  a  Romish  inquisitor,  as  quoted  by  Allix, 
bears  testimony  concerning  those  in  Bohemia : — 

* '  They  can  say  a  great  part  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments by  heart.  They  despise  the  decretals,  and  the  say- 
ings and  expositions  of  holy  men,  and  only  cleave  to  the 
text  of  Scripture.  .  .  .  [They  say]  that  the  doctrine 
of  Christ  and  the  apostles  is  sufficient  to  salvation,  with- 
out any  church  statutes  and  ordinances.  That  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  church  are  no  better  than  the  traditions 
of   the   Pharisees ;    and   that   greater   stress   is  laid   on 

'  Eccl.  Hist,  of  the  Ancient  Churches  of  Piedmont,  p.  1G7. 

2  History  of  the  English  Baptists,  a'oI.  i.  pref.  p.  35. 

3  Mr.  Jones,  in  his  *'  Church  Histor}',"  vol.  i.  chap,  iii.,  note  at 
tlie  end  of  tlie  chapter,  explains  this  charge  as  follows  :  "But 
this  calumny  is  easily  accounted  for.  The  advocates  of  popery, 
to  support  their  usurpations  and  innovations  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  were  driven  to  the  Old  Testament  for  authority,  adducing 
the  kingdom  of  David  for  their  example.  And  when  their  adver- 
saries rebutted  the  argument,  insisting  that  the  parallel  did  not 
hold,  for  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  which  is  not  of  this  world, 
is  a  very  dillerent  state  of  things  from  the  kingdom  of  David, 
their  opponents  accused  them  of  giving  up  the  divine  authority  of 
the  Old  Testament." 


THE    SABBATH    IN    THE    DARK    AGES.  407 

the  observation  of  human  traditions  than  on  the  keeping 
of  the  lav/  of  God.  Why  do  3'ou  transgress  the  law  of 
God  by  your  traditions?  .  .  .  They  contemn  all  ap- 
proved ecclesiastical  customs  which  they  do  not  read  of  in 
the  gospel,  as  the  observation  of  Candlemas,  Palm  Sun- 
day, the  reconciliation  of  penitents,  the  adoration  of  the 
cross  on  Good  Friday.  They  despise  the  feast  of  Easter, 
and  all  other  festivals  of  Christ  and  the  saints,  because 
of  their  being  multiplied  to  that  vast  number,  and  say 
that  one  day  is  as  good  as  another,  and  work  upon  holy 
days,  where  they  can  do  it  without  being  taken  notice 
of."^ 

Dr.  AUix  quotes  a  Waldensian  document  of 
A.  D.  1100,  entitled  the  ''Noble  Lesson/'  and  re- 
marks : — 

' '  The  author  upon  supposal  that  the  world  was  draw- 
ing to  an  end,  exhorts  his  brethren  to  prayer,  to  watch- 
fulness, to  a  renouncing  of  all  worldly  goods.       *      *      -J^- 

''He  sets  down  all  the  judgments  of  God  in  the  Old 
Testament  as  the  effects  of  a  just  and  good  God  ;  and  in 
particular  the  decalogue  as  a  law  given  by  the  Lord  of 
the  whole  world.  He  repeats  the  several  articles  of  the 
law,  not  forgetting  that  which  respects  idols.  "^ 

Their  religious  views  are  further  stated  by 
Allix  :— 

' '  They  declare  themselves  to  be  the  apostles'  success- 
ors, to  have  apostolical  authority,  and  the  keys  of  binding 
and  loosing.  They  hold  the  church  of  Rome  to  be  the 
whore  of  Babylon,  and  that  all  that  obey  her  are  damred, 
especially  the  clergy  that  are  subject  to  her  since  the  time 
of  Pope  Sylvester.  .  .  .  They  liold  that  none  of  the 
ordinances  of  the  church  that  have  been  introduced  since 
Christ's  ascension  ought  to  be  observed,  as  being  of  no 
worth ;  the  feasts,  fasts,  orders,  blessings,  offices  of  the 
church  and  the  like,  they  utterly  reject."^ 

A  considerable  part  of  the  people  called  Wal- 
denses  bore  the  significant  designation  of  Sab- 

»  Eccl.  Hist.  Ancient  Churches  of  Piedmont,  pp.  231,  236,  237. 
2  Id.  pp.  175-177.  -^  Id.  p.  209. 


408  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

bati,  or  Sahbatati,  or   Insabbatati     Mr.   Jones 
alludes  to  this  fact  in  the  following  words : — 

''Because  they  would  not  observe  saints'  days,  they 
■were  falsely  supposed  to  neglect  the  Sabbath  also,  and 
called  I)isabbatati  or  lasahbathists."^ 

Mr.  Benedict  makes  the  following  statement : — 

' '  We  find  that  the  Waldenses  were  sometimes  called  In- 
sabbathos,  that  is,  regardless  of  Sabbaths.  Mr.  Milner  sup- 
poses this  name  was  given  to  them  because  they  observed 
not  the  Romish  festivals,  and  rested  from  their  ordinary 
occupations  only  on  Sundays.  A  Sabbatarian  would 
suppose  that  it  was  because  they  met  for  w^orship  on  the 
seventh  day,  and  did  regard  not  the  first-day  Sabbath."- 

Mr.  Robinson  gives  the  statements  of  three 
classes  of  writers  respecting  the  meaning  of  these 
names,  which  were  borne  by  the  Waldenses.  But 
he  rejects  them  all,  alleging  that  these  persons 
were  led  to  these  conclusions  by  the  apparent 
meaning  of  the  words,  and  not  by  the  facts. 
Here  are  his  words  : — 

"  Some  of  these  Christians  were  called  Sabbnti,  Sabba- 
tati,  Insabbatati,  and  more  frequently  Tnzabbatati .  Led 
astray  by  sound  without  attending  to  facts,  one  says  they 
were  so  named  from  the  Hebrew  word  Sabbath,  because 
they  kept  the  Saturday  for  the  Lord's  day.  Another 
says  they  were  so  called  because  they  rejected  all  the  fes- 
tivals or  Sabbaths  in  the  low  Latin  sense  of  the  word, 
which  the  Catholic  church  religiously  observed.  A  third 
says,  and  many  with  various  alterations  and  additions 
have  said  after  him,  they  were  called  so  from  sabot  or  za- 
bof,  a  shoe,  because  they  distinguished  themselves  from 
other  people  by  wearing  shoes  marked  on  the  upper  part 
with  some  peculiarity.  Is  it  likely  that  people  who  could 
not  descend  from  their  mountains  without  hazarding  their 
lives  through  the  furious  zeal  of  the  inquisitors,  should 
tempt  danger  by  affixing  a  visible  mark  on  their  shoes  ? 
]5esides  the  shoe  of  the  peasants  happens  to  be  famous  in 


'  Hist.  Church,  chap.  v.  sect.  1. 

^KJcn.  Hist.  ];ai)t.  Dcnoin.  vol.  ii,  p.  113,  ed.  ISi; 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.       409 

this  country ;  it  was  of  a  different  fashion,  and  was  called 
abarca."^ 

Mr.  Robinson  rejects  these  three  statements, 
and  then  gives  his  own  judgment  that  they  were 
so  called  because  they  lived  in  the  mountains. 
These  four  views  cover  all  that  has  been  ad- 
vanced relative  to  the  meaning  of  these  names. 
But  Robinson's  own  explanation  is  purely  fanci- 
ful, and  seems  to  have  been  adopted  by  no  other 
writer.  He  offers,  however,  conclusive  reasons 
for  rejecting  the  statement  that  they  took  their 
name  from  their  shoes.  There  remain,  therefore, 
only  the  first  and  second  of  these  four  state- 
ments, which  are  that  they  were  called  by  these 
names  because  they  kept  the  Saturday  for  the 
Lord's  day,  and  because  they  did  not  keep  the 
sabbaths  of  the  papists.  These  two  statements 
do  not  conflict.  In  fact,  if  one  of  them  be  true, 
it  almost  certainly  follows  that  the  other  one 
must  be  true  also.  There  would  be  in  such  facts 
something  vv^orthy  to  give  a  distinguishing  name 
to  the  true  people  of  God,  surrounded  by  the 
great  apostasy  ;  and  the  natural  and  obvious  in- 
terpretation of  the  names  would  disclose  the 
most  striking  characteristic  of  the  people  who 
bore  them. 

Jones  and  Benedict  agree  with  Robinson  in 
rejecting  the  idea  that  the  Waldenses  received 
these  names  from  their  shoes.  Mr.  Jones  held,  on 
the  contrary,  that  they  were  given  them  because 
they  did  not  keep  the  Romish  festivals.^  Mj:. 
Benedict   favors   the  view  that  it  was  because 


1  Ecclesiastical  Researches,  chap.  x.  pp.  303,  30-i. 
^Jones's  Hist.  Church,  vol.  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  1. 

Sabbath  History.  a<7 


410  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

they  kept  the  seventh  day.^  But  let  us  now  see 
who  they  are  that  make  these  statements  respect- 
hig  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  by  the  Wal- 
denses,  that  Robinson  alludes  to  in  this  place. 
He  quotes  out  of  Gretser  the  words  of  the  his- 
torian Goldastus  as  follows  : — 

*'  Insabbatati  [they  were  called]  not  because  they  were 
circumcised,  but  because  they  kept  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  "- 

Goldastus  was  "  a  learned  historian  and  jurist, 
born  near  Bischofszell  in  Switzerland  in  1576." 
He  died  in  1635.^  He  was  a  Calvinist  writer  of 
note.^  He  certainly  had  no  motive  to  favor  the 
cause  of  the  seventh  day.  Gretser  objects  to  his 
statement  on  the  ground  that  the  Waldenses  ex- 
terminated every  festival ;  but  this  was  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world  for  men  who  had  God's 
own  rest-day  in  their  keeping.  Gretser  still  fur- 
ther objects  that  the  Waldenses  denied  the  whole 
Old  Testament ;  but  this  charge  is  an  utter  mis- 
representation, as  we  have  already  shown  in  the 
present  chapter. 

Robinson  also  quotes  on  this  point  the  testi- 
mony of  Archbishop  Usher.  Though  that  prel- 
ate held  that  the  Waldenses  derived  these 
names  from  their  shoes,  he  frankly  acknowledges 
that  MANY  understood  that  they  were  given  to 
them  because  they  worshiped  on  the  Jewish 
Sabbath.  This  testimony  is  valuable  in  that  it 
shows  that  many  early  writers  asserted  the  ob- 

1  General  Hist.  Baptist  Denom.  vol.  ii.  p.  413. 

2  Circumcisi  forsan  illi  fuerint,  qui  aliis  Insabbatati,  non  quod 
circumciderentur,  inquit  Calvinista  [Goldastus]  sed  quod  in  Sab- 
bato  judaizarent. — Eccl.  Researches,  chap.  x.  p.  303. 

3  Thomas'  Dictionary  of  Biography  and  Mythology,  article 
Goldast. 

■•  D'Aubigne's  Reformation  in  the  time  of  Calvin,  vol.  iii.  p.  450. 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.      411 

servance  of  "  the  Saturday  for  the  Lord's  day  " 
by  the  people  Avho  were  called  Sabbatati.^ 

In  consequence  of  the  persecutions  which 
they  suffered,  and  because  also  of  their  own  mis- 
sionary zeal,  the  people  called  Waldenses  were 
widely  scattered  over  Europe.  They  bore,  how- 
ever, various  names  in  different  ages  and  in  dif- 
ferent countries.  We  have  decisive  testimony 
that  some  of  these  bodies  observed  the  seventh 
day.  Others  observed  Sunday.  Eneas  Sylvius 
says  that  those  in  Bohemia  hold  "  that  we  are  to 
cease  from  working  on  no  day  except  the  Lord's 
day."  ^  This  statement,  let  it  be  observed,  relates 
only  to  Bohemia.  But  it  has  been  asserted  that 
the  Waldenses  were  so  distinct  from  the  church 
of  Rome  they  could  not  have  received  the  Sun- 
day Lord's  day  from  thence,  and  must,  therefore, 
have  received  it  from  the  apostles !  But  a  few 
words  from  D'Aubigne  will  suffice  to  show  that 
this  statement  is  founded  in  error.  He  describes 
an  interview  between  CEcolampadius  and  two 
Waldensian  pastors  who  had  been  sent  by  their 
brethren  from  the  borders  of  France  and  Pied- 
mont, to  open  communication  with  the  reform- 
ers. It  w^as  at  Basle,  in  1530.  Many  things 
which  they  said  pleased  CEcolampadius,  but  some 
things  he  disapproved.  D'Aubigne  makes  this 
statement : — 

"  The  barbes  [the  Waldensian  pastors]  were  at  first  a 
little  confused  at  seeing  that  the  elders  had  to  learn  of 
their  juniors  ;  however,  they  v/ere  hiunble  and  sincere 
men,  and  the  Basle  doctor  having  questioned  them  on 
the   sacraments,  they  confessed   that  through   weakness 

1  Nee  quod  in  Sabbato  colendo  Judaizarent,  lit  multi  ptjtabant, 
sed  a  zapata. — Eccl.  Researches,  chap.  x.  p.  304;  Usher^s  De 
Christlanar.  Eccl.  success,  et  stat.  cap.  7. 

2.Tones's  Church  History,  vol.  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  2. 


412  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

and  fear  they  Imd  their  children  baptized  by  Bomish  priests, 
and  that  tlicy  even  communicated  with  them  and  sometimes 
attended  mass.  This  unexpected  avowal  startled  the  meek 
CEcolampadiiis."  * 

When  the  deputation  returned  word  to  the 
Waldenses  that  the  reformers  demanded  of  them 
"  a  stricter  reform/'  D'Aubign^  says  that  it  was 
"  supported  by  some,  and  rej ected  by  others."  He 
also  informs  us  that  the  demand  that  the  Wal- 
denses should  "separate  entirely  from  Rome" 
"  caused  divisions  among  them."  ^ 

This  is  a  very  remarkable  statement.  The 
light  of  many  of  these  ancient  witnesses  was  al- 
most ready  to  go  out  in  darkness  when  God 
raised  up  tlie  reformers.  They  had  suffered  that 
woman  Jezebel  to  teach  among  them,  and  to  se- 
duce the  servants  of  God.  They  had  even  come 
to  practice  infant  baptism,  and  the  priests  of 
Rome  administered  the  rite !  And  in  addition 
to  all  this,  they  sometimes  joined  with  them  in 
the  service  of  the  mass !  If  a  portion  of  the 
Waldenses  in  southern  Europe  at  the  time  of 
the  Reformation  had  exchanged  believers'  bap- 
tism for  the  baptism  of  children  by  Romish 
priests,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  they  could 
also  accept  the  Sunday-Lord's  day  from  the  same 
source  in  place  of  the  hallowed  rest-day  of  the 
Lord.  All  had  not  done  this,  but  some  cei-tainly 
had. 

D'Aubigne  makes  a  very  interesting  statement 
respecting  the  French  Waldenses  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  His  language  implies  that  they  had  a 
different  Sabbath  from  the  Catholics.  He  tells 
us  some  of  the  stories  which  the  priests  circu- 

'  Reformation  in  the  time  of  Calvin,  vol.  iii.  p.  24!>. 
■\<\.  pp.  2.=in,  2.-.I. 


THE    SABP.ATII    IN    THE    DARK    AGES.  413 

lated    against   the   Waldenses.      These   are   liis 
words  : — 

"  Picardy  in  the  north  and  Daiiphiny  in  the  south  were 
the  two  provinces  of  France  best  prepared  [at  the  open- 
ing of  the  Protestant  Reformation]  to  receive  the  gospel. 
During  the  fifteenth  century  many  Picardins,  as  the  story- 
ran,  went  to  Vaudery.  Seated  round  the  fire  during  the 
long  nights,  simple  Cathohcs  used  to  tell  one  another 
how  the  Vaiidois  (Waldenses)  met  in  horrible  assembly  in 
solitary  jDlaces,  where  they  found  tables  spread  with  nu- 
merous and  dainty  viands.  These  poor  Christians  loved 
indeed  to  meet  together  from  districts  often  very  remote. 
They  went  to  the  rendezvous  by  night  and  along  by-roads. 
The  most  learned  of  them  used  to  recite  some  passages  of 
Scripture,  after  which  they  conversed  together  and  prayed. 
But  such  humble  conventicles  were  ridiculously  travestied. 
'  Do  you  know  what  they  do  to  get  there, '  said  the  peo- 
ple, '  so  that  the  officers  may  not  stop  them  ?  The  devil 
has  given  them  a  certain  ointment,  and  when  they  want 
to  go  to  Vaudery,  they  smear  a  little  stick  with  it.  As 
soon  as  they  get  astride  it,  they  are  carried  up  through 
the  air,  and  arrive  at  their  Sabbath  without  meeting  any- 
body. In  the  midst  of  them  sits  a  goat  with  a  monkey's 
tail :  this  is  Satan,  who  receives  their  adoration. '  .  .  . 
These  stupid  stories  were  not  peculiar  to  the  people :  they 
were  circulated  particularly  by  the  monks.  It  was  thus 
that  the  inquisitor  Jean  de  Broussart  spoke  in  1460  from 
a  pulpit  erected  in  the  great  square  at  Arras.  An  im- 
mense multitude  surrounded  him ;  a  scaftbld  was  erected 
in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  a  number  of  men  and  women, 
kneeling  and  wearing  caps  with  the  figure  of  the  devil 
painted  on  them,  awaited  their  punishment.  Perhaps 
the  faith  of  these  poor  people  was  mingled  with  eiTor. 
But  be  that  as  it  may,  they  were  all  burnt  alive  after  the 
sermon."  ^ 

It  seems  that  these  Waldenses  had  a  Sabbath 
peculiar  to  themselves.  And  D'Aubigne  himselt 
alludes  to  something  peculiar  in  their  faith  which 

1  Reformation  in  the  time  of  Calvin,  vol.  i.  p.  349  ;  D'Aubigne 
cites  as  his  authority,  "  Histoire  des  Protestants  de  I'icardie'"  by 
L.  Rossier,  p.  2. 


414  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

he  cannot  confess  as  the  truth,  and  does  not 
choose  to  denounce  as  error.  He  says,  "  Perhaps 
the  faith  of  these  poor  people  was  mingled  with 
error."  To  speak  of  the  observance  of  the  sev- 
enth day  as  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  by  New- 
Testament  Christians,  subjects  a  conscientious 
first-day  historian  to  this  very  dilemma.  We 
have  a  further  account  of  the  Waldenses  in 
France,  just  before  the  commencement  of  the 
Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century : — 

''Louis  XII.,  king  of  France,  being  informed  by  the 
enemies  of  the  Waldenses  inhabiting  a  part  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Provence,  that  several  heinous  crimes  were  laid  to 
their  account,  sent  the  Master  of  Requests,  and  a  certain 
doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  who  was  confessor  to  His  Maj- 
esty, to  make  inquiry  into  this  matter.  On  their  return, 
they  reported  that  they  had  visited  all  the  parishes  where 
they  dwelt,  had  inspected  their  places  of  worship,  but 
that  they  had  found  there  no  images,  nor  signs  of  the 
ornaments  belonging  to  the  mass,  nor  any  of  the  cere- 
monies^ of  the  Romish  church  ;  much  less  could  they  dis- 
cover any  traces  of  those  crimes  with  which  they  were 
charged.  On  the  contrary,  they  kept  the  Sabbath  day, 
observed  the  ordinance  of  baptism  according  to  the  prim- 
itive church,  instructed  their  children  in  the  articles  of 
the  Christian  faith  and  the  commandments  of  God.  The 
king  having  heard  the  report  of  his  commissioners,  said 
with  an  oath  that  they  were  better  men  than  himself  or 
his  people."^ 

We  further  read  concerning  the  Vaudois,  or 
Waldenses,  as  follows  : — 

' '  The  respectable  French  historian,  De  Thou,  says  that 
the  Vaudois  keep  the  commandments  of  the  decalogue, 
and  allow  among  them  of  no  wickedness,  detesting  per- 
juries, imprecations,  quarrels,  seditions,  &c."^ 

It  maybe  proper  to  add  that  in  1686  the  Wal- 

'.Tones's  Church  History,  vol.  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  4. 
3  History  of  the  Vandois  by  Bressc.  p.  12(j. 


THE  SABBATH  IX  THE  DARK  AGES.       415 

denses  were  all  driven  out  of  the  valleys  of  Pied- 
mont, and  that  those  who  returned  and  settled  in 
those  valleys  three  years  afterward,  and  from 
whom  the  present  race  of  Waldenses  is  descended, 
fought  their  way  back,  sword  in  hand,  pursuing 
in  all  respects  a  course  entirely  different  from  that 
of  the  ancient  Waldenses.  ^ 

Another  class  of  witnesses  to  the  truth  during 
the  Dark  Ages,  bore  the  name  of  Cathari,  that  is, 
Puritans.     Jones  speaks  of  them  as  follows  : — 

'  '■  They  were  a  plain,  unassuming,  harmless,  and  indus- 
trious race  of  Christians,  patiently  bearing  the  cross  after 
Christ,  and,  both  in  their  doctrines  and  manners,  con- 
demning the  whole  system  of  idolatry  and  superstition 
which  reigned  in  the  church  of  Rome,  placing  true  relig- 
ion in  the  faith,  hope  and  obedience  of  the  gospel,  main- 
taining a  supreme  regard  to  the  authority  of  God  in  his 
word,  and  regulating  their  sentiments  and  practices  by 
that  divine  standard.  Even  in  the  twelfth  century  their 
numbers  abounded  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cologne,  in 
Flanders,  the  South  of  France,  Savoy,  and  Milan. 
*  They  were  increased,'  says  Egbert,  '  to  great  multitudes, 
throughout  all  countries.'  "^ 

That  the  Cathari  did  retain  and  observe  the 
ancient  Sabbath,  is  certified  by  their  Romish  ad- 
versaries. Dr.  Allix  quotes  a  Roman  Catholic  au- 
thor of  the  twelfth  century  concerning  three  sorts 
of  heretics,  the  Cathari,  the  Passagii,  and  the  Ar- 
noldistfe.     Allix  says  of  this  Romish  writer  that, 

'^He  lays  it  down  also  as  one  of  their  opinions,  'that 
the  law  of  Moses  is  to  be  kept  according  to  the  letter,  and 
that  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath,  circumcision,  and  other 
legal  observances,  ought  to  take  place.  They  hold  also 
that  Christ  the  Son  of  God  is  not  equal  with  the  Father, 
and  that  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  these  three 
persons,  are  not  one  God  and  one  substance  ;  and  as  a  sur- 

1  Benedict's  Hist.  Bapt.  p.  41. 

2  Hist.  Church,  chap.  iv.  sect.  3. 


416  HISTOKY    OV    THE    SABBATH. 

plus  to  these  their  errors,  they  judge  and  condemn  all  the 
doctors  of  the  church,  and  universally  the  whole  Roman 
church.  Now  since  they  endeavor  to  defend  this  their 
error  by  testimonies  drawn  from  the  New  Testament  and 
prophets,  I  shall  with  [the]  assistance  of  the  grace  of 
Christ  stop  their  mouths,  as  David  did  Goliah's,  with 
their  own  sword.'  "  ^ 

Dr.  AUix  quotes  another  Romish  author  to  the 
same  effect : — 

"  Alanus  attributes  to  the  Cathari  almost  the  A'^ery  same 
opinions  [as  those  just  enumerated]  in  his  first  book 
against  heretics,  which  he  wrote  about  the  year  1192."  ^ 

Mr.  Elliott  mentions  an  incident  concerning  the 
Cathari,  which  is  in  harmony  with  what  these 
historians  assert  respecting  their  observance  of 
the  seventh  day.     He  says  : — 

"In  this  year  [a.  d.  1163]  certain  heretics  of  the  sect 
of  the  Cathari,  coming  from  the  parts  of  Flanders  to 
Cologne,  took  up  their  abode  secretly  in  a  barn  near  the 
city.  But,  as  on  the  LortVs  day  they  did  not  go  to  church, 
they  were  seized  by  the  neighbors,  and  detected.  On 
their  being  brought  before  the  Catholic  church,  when, 
after  long  examination  respecting  their  sect,  they  would 
be  convinced  by  no  evidence  however  convincing,  but 
most  pertinaciously  persisted  in  their  doctrine  and  resolu- 
tion, they  were  cast  out  from  the  church,  and  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  laics.  These,  leading  them  without  the 
city  committed  them  to  the  flames  :  being  four  men  and 
one  little  girl. "  ^ 

These  statements  are  made  respecting  three 
classes  of  Christian  people  who  lived  during  the 
Dark  Ages :  The  Cathari,  or  Puritans,  the  Ar- 
noldistfe,  and  the  Passaginians.     Their  views  are 

lEccl.  Hist,  of  the  Ancient  Churches  of  Piedmont,  pp.  1G8, 1G9, 
Boston,  Pub.  Lib.  The  author.  Kev.  Peter  Allix,  D.  D.,  was  a 
French  Protestant,  born  in  1(141,  and  was  distingui.shed  for  pietj 
and  erudition. — Lbmpriere\  Universal  JJioaraphy. 

^  Id.  p.  17<X  ■ 

=»  Horio  Apocalypticso,  vol.  ii.  p.  201. 


THE    SABBATH    IN    THE    DARK    AGES.  417 

presented  m  the  uncandid  language  of  their  ene- 
mies. But  the  testimony  of  ancient  Catholic 
historians  is  decisive  that  they  were  observers  of 
the  seventh  day.  The  charge  that  they  observed 
circumcision  also,  will  be  noticed  presently.  Mr. 
Robinson  understands  that  the  Passaginians  were 
that*  portion  of  the  Waldenses  who  lived  in  the 
passes  of  the  mountains.     He  says  : — 

^ '  It  is  very  credible  that  the  name  Passageros  or 
Passagini  .  .  .  was  given  to  such  of  them  as  lived  in  or 
near  the  passes  or  passages  of  the  mountains,  and  who 
subsisted  in  part  by  guiding  travelers  or  by  traveling 
themselves  for  trade."  ^ 

Mr.  Elliott  says  of  the  name  Passagini : — 

"  The  explanation  of  the  term  as  meaning  Pilgrims,  in 
both  the  spiritual  and  missionary  sense  of  the  word, 
would  be  but  the  translation  of  their  recognized  Greek 
appellation  eKOT^/jot.,  and  a  title  as  distinctive  as  beau- 
tiful. "- 

Mosheim  gives  the  following  account  of  them : — 

*^In  Lombardy,  which  was  the  principal  residence  of 
the  Italian  heretics,  there  sprung  up  a  singular  sect, 
known,  for  what  reason  I  cannot  tell,  by  the  denomina- 
tion of  Passaginians,  and  also  by  that  of  the  circumcised. 
Like  the  other  sects  already  mentioned,  they  had  the  ut- 
most aversion  to  the  dominion  and  discipline  of  the  church 
of  Rome  ;  but  they  were  at  the  same  time  distinguished 
by  two  religious  tenets  which  were  peculiar  to  themselves. 
The  first  was  a  notion  that  the  observance  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  in  everything  except  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  was 
obligatory  upon  Christians  ;  in  consequence  of  which  they 
circumcised  their  followers,  abstained  from  those  meats 
the  use  of  which  was  prohibited  under  the  Mosaic  econ- 
omy, and  celebrated  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  The  second 
tenet  that  distinguished  this  sect  was  advanced  in  opposi- 


Eccl.  Researches,  chap.  x.  pp.  305,  30G. 
Horse  Apocalypticpe,  vol.  ii.  p.  342. 


418  HISTORY   OF   THE    SABBATH. 

tion  to  the  doctrine  of  tliree  persons  in  the  divine  na- 
ture. "  ^ 

Mr.  Benedict  speaks  of  tliem  as  follows : — 

''The  account  of  their  practicing  circumcision  is  un- 
doubtedlj'^  a  slanderous  story  forged  by  their  enemies, 
and  probably  arose  in  this  way  :  because  they  observed 
the  seventh  day  they  were  called  by  way  of  derision, 
Jews,  as  the  Sabl^atarians  are  frequently  at  this  day  ;  and 
if  they  were  Jews,  it  followed  of  course  that  they  either 
did,  or  ought  to,  cu'cumcise  their  followers.  This  was 
probably  the  reasoning  of  their  enemies  ;  but  that  they 
actually  practiced  the  bloody  rite  is  altogether  improb- 
able."^' 

An  eminent  cliurcli  historian,  Michael  Geddes, 
thus  testifies : — 

"  This  [act]  of  fixing  something  that  is  justly  abomin- 
able to  all  mankind  upon  her  adversaries,  has  been  the 
constant  practice  of  the  church  of  Rome."'^ 

Dr.  Allix  states  the  same  fact,  which  needs  to 
he  kept  in  mind  whenever  we  read  of  the  people 
of  God  in  the  records  of  the  Dark  Ages  : — 

"I  must  desire  the  reader  to  consider  that  it  is  no 
great  sin  with  the  church  of  Rome  to  spread  lies  concern- 
ing those  that  are  enemies  of  that  faith."  * 

* '  There  is  nothing  more  common  with  the  Romish 
party  than  to  make  use  of  the  most  horrid  calumnies  to 
blacken  and  expose  those  who  have  renounced  her  com- 
munion."^ 

Of  the  origin  of  the  Petrobrusians,  we  have  the 
following  account  by  Mr.  Jones  : — 

*'  But  the  Cathari  or  Puritans  were  not  the  only  sect 
which,  during  the  twelfth  century,  appeared  in  opposition 

>  Eccl.  Hist.  cent.  xii.  part  ii.  chap.  v.  sect.  14. 

3  General  Hist.  iJapt.  Denom.  a^oI.  ii.  p.  414,  cd.  1813. 

■'Acts  and  Decrees  of  the  Svnod  of  Diamper,  p.  158,  London 

■»  Kccl.  Hist,  oftlie  Ancient  Churches  of  I'iediuonl,  p.  2J4. 
» Id.  p.  '22,"). 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.       419 

to  the  superstition  of  tlie  church  of  Rome.  About  the 
year  1110,  in  the  south  of  France,  in  the  provinces  of 
Languedoc  and  Provence,  appeared  Peter  de  Bruys, 
preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  ex- 
erting the  most  laudable  efibrts  to  reform  the  abuses  and 
remove  the  superstition  which  disfigured  the  beautiful 
simplicity  of  the  gospel  worship.  His  labors  were  crowned 
with  abundant  success.  He  converted  a  great  number  of 
disciples  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  after  a  most  in- 
defatigable ministry  of  twenty  years'  continuance,  he 
was  burned  at  St.  Giles,  a  city  of  Languedoc  in  France, 
A.  D.  1130,  by  an  enraged  populace,  instigated  by  the 
clergy,  who  apprehended  their  traffic  to  be  in  danger  from 
this  new  and  intrepid  reformer."^ 

That  this  body  of  French  Christians,  who,  in 
the  very  midnight  of  the  Dark  Ages  witnessed 
for  the  truth  in  opposition  to  the  Romish  church, 
were  observers  of  the  ancient  Sabbath  is  ex- 
pressly certified  by  Dr.  Francis  White,  lord  bishop 
of  Ely.  He  was  appointed  by  the  king  of  Eng- 
land to  write  against  the  Sabbath  in  opposition 
to  Brabourne,  who  had  appealed  to  the  king  in 
its  behalf  To  show  that  Sabbatic  observance 
is  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  church 
— a  weighty  argument  with  an  Episcopalian — he 
enumerates  various  classes  of  heretics  who  had 
been  condemned  by  the  Catholic  church  for  keep- 
ing holy  the  seventh  day.  Among  these  heretics 
he  places  the  Petrobrusians : — 

' '  In  St.  Bernard's  days  it  was  condemned  in  the  Petro- 
bruysans."' 

We  have  seen  that,  according  to  Catholic  writ- 
ers, the  Cathari  held  to  the  observance  of  the 
seventh  day.  Dr.  Allix  confirms  the  statement 
of  Dr.  White  that  the  Petrobrusians  observed  the 


>  Hist,  of  the  Church,  chap.  iv.  sect.  3. 
'•^Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  dav,  p.  8. 


420  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

ancient  Sabbath,  by  stating  that  the  doctrines  of 
these  two  bodies  greatly  resembled  each  other. 
These  are  his  words  : — 

''  Petrus  Cluniacensis  has  handled  five  questions  against 
the  Petrobrusians  which  bear  a  great  resemblance  with  the 
belief  of  the  Cathari  of  Italy. "  ^ 

The  Sabbath-keepers  in  the  eleventh  century 
were  of  sufficient  importance  to  call  down  upon 
themselves  the  anathema  of  the  pope.  Dr.  Hey- 
lyn  says  that, 

"Gregory,  of  that  name  the  seventh  [about  a.  d.  1074], 
condemned  those  who  taught  that  it  was  not  lawful  to  do 
work  on  the  day  of  the  Sabbath. "  - 

This  act  of  the  pope  corroborates  the  testimo- 
nies we  have  adduced  in  proof  of  the  existence  of 
Sabbath-keepers  in  the  Dark  Ages.  Gregory  the 
Seventh  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  ever 
filled  the  papal  chair.  Whatever  class  he  anath- 
ematized was  of  some  consequence.  Gregory 
wasted  nothing  on  trifles.  ^ 

In  the  eleventh  century,  there  were  Sabbath- 
keepers  also  in  Constantinople  and  its  vicinity. 
The  pope,  in  A.  D.  1054,  sent  three  legates  to  the 
emperor  of  the  East,  and  to  the  patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, for  the  purpose  of  re-uniting  the 
Greek  and  the  Latin  churches.  Cardinal  Hum- 
bert was  the  head  of  this  legation.  The  legates, 
on  their  arrival,  set  themselves  to  the  work  of 
refuting  those   doctrines  which    distingush   the 


>Eccl.  Hist,  of  the  Ancient  Churches  of  Piedmont,  p.  1G2. 

2  History  of  the  Sabbuth,  part  ii.  chap.  t.  sect.  1. 

sJiower  says  of  Gregory  :  "He  was  a  man  of  most  extraordi- 
nary parts,  of  an  unlbounded  ambition,  of  a  haughty  and  impe- 
rious temper,  of  resolution  and  courage  incapable  of  yielding  to 
the  greatest  difficulties,  perfectly  acquainted  toith  the  state  of  the 
wextern  churches,  as  well  as  with  tiie  different  interests  of  the 
(.'hristian  princes." — lI'iKtory  nf  the  Popex,  vol.  ii.  p.  3T8. 


THE    SABBATH    I2s    THE    DAllK    AGES.  421 

churcii  of  Constantinople  from  that  of  Rome. 
After  they  had  attended  to  the  questions  which 
separated  the  two  churches,  they  found  it  also 
necessary  to  discuss  the  question  of  the  Sabbath. 
For  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  the  East  had 
put  forth  a  treatise,  in  which  he  maintained  that 
ministers  should  be  allowed  to  marry ;  that  the 
Sabbath  should  be  kept  holy ;  and  that  leavened 
bread  should  be  used  in  the  supper ;  all  of  which 
the  churcli  of  Rome  held  to  be  deadly  heresies. 
We  quote  from  Mr.  Bower  a  concise  statement  of 
t]ie  treatment  vdiich  this  Sabbatarian  writer  re- 
ceived : — 

''Humbert,  likewise  answered  a  piece  tliat  liad  been 
published  by  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Studium,  [near 
Constantinople,]  named  Nicetas,  who  was  deemed  one  of 
tJie  most  learned  men  at  the  time  in  the  east.  In  that  piece 
the  monk  undertook  to  prove,  that  leavened  bread  only 
should  be  used  in  the  eucharist,  that  the  Sahhath  ought  to 
he  kept  holy,  and  that  priests  should  be  allowed  to  marry. 
But  the  emperor,  who  wanted  by  all  means  to  gain  the 
pope,  for  the  reasons  mentioned  above,  was,  or  rather 
pretended  to  be,  so  fully  convinced  with  tlie  arguments 
of  the  legate,  confuting  those  alleged  by  Nicetas,  that  he 
obliged  the  monk  publickly  to  recant,  and  anathematize 
all  who  held  the  opinion  that  he  had  endeavored  to  estab- 
lish, with  respect  to  unleavened  bread,  the  Sabbath,  and 
the  marriage  of  priests. 

''At  the  same  time  Nicetas,  in  compliance  with  the 
command  of  the  emperor,  anathematized  all  who  should 
question  the  primacy  of  the  Roman  church  with  respect 
to  all  other  Christian  churches,  or  should  presume  to 
censure  her  ever  orthodox  faith.  The  monk  having  thus 
retracted  all  he  had  written  against  the  Holy  See,  his 
book  was  burnt  by  the  emperor's  order,  and  he  absolved, 
by  the  legates,  from  the  censures  he  had  incurred."  ^ 

This  record  shows  that,  in  the  dense  darkness 
of  the  eleventh  century,  "  one  of  the  most  learned 

1  History  of  the  Popes,  vol.  ii.  p.  5->S. 


422  HISTORY    OF    THE    SADBATII. 

men  at  that  time  in  the  east"  wrote  a  book  to 
prove  that  "  the  Sabbath  ought  to  be  kept  holy," 
and  in  opposition  to  the  papal  doctrine  of  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy.  It  also  shows  how  the 
church  of  Rome  casts  down  the  truth  of  God  by 
means  of  the  sword  of  emperors  and  kings. 
Though  Nicetas  retracted,  under  fear  of  the  em- 
peror and  the  pope,  it  appears  that  there  were 
others  who  held  the  same  opinions,  for  he  was 
"  obliged  "  to  anathematize  all  sucli,  and  there  is 
no  evidence  that  any  of  these  persons  turned 
from  the  truth  because  of  the  fall  of  their  leader. 
Indeed,  if  there  had  not  been  a  considerable  body 
of  these  Sabbatarians,  the  papal  legate  would 
never  have  deemed  it  worthy  of  his  dignity  to 
write  a  reply  to  Nicetas. 

The  Anabaptists  are  often  referred  to  in  the 
records  of  the  Dark  Ages.  The  term  signifies  re- 
bap  tizers,  and  was  applied  to  them  because  they 
denied  the  validity  of  infant  baptism.  The  des- 
ignation is  not  accurate,  how^ever,  because  tliose 
persons  wdiom  they  baptized,  they  considered  as 
never  having  been  baptized  before,  although  they 
had  been  sprinkled  or  even  immersed  in  infancy. 
This  people  have  been  overwhelmed  in  obloquy 
in  consequence  of  the  fanatical  insurrection  whicli 
broke  out  in  their  name  in  the  time  of  Luther. 
Of  those  enoraored  in  this  insurrection.  Buck 
says  :— 

"  Tlie  first  insurgents  groaned  under  severe  oppres- 
sions, and  took  up  arms  in  defense  of  their  civil  liberties  ; 
and  of  these  commotions  the  Anabaptists  seem  rather  to 
have  availed  themselves,  than  to  have  been  the  prime 
movers.  That  a  great  part  v/ere  Anabaptists  seems  indis- 
putable ;  at  the  same  time  it  appears  from  liistory  that  a 
gi-eat  part  also  were  Roman  Catholics,  and  a  still  greater 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.       423 

part  of  those  who  had  scarcely  any  religious  principles 
at  all."^ 

This  matter  is  placed  in  the  true  light  by 
Stebbing : — 

"The  overthrow  of  civil  society,  and  fatal  injuries  to 
religion  were  threatened  by  those  w^ho  called  themselves 
Anabaptists.  But  large  numbers  appear  to  have  disputed 
the  validity  of  infant  baptism  who  had  nothing  else  in 
common  wdth  them,  yet  who  for  that  one  circumstance 
w^ere  overwhelmed  with  the  obloquy,  and  the  punishment 
richly  due  to  a  fanaticism  equally  fraudulent  and  licen- 
tious. "  * 

The  ancient  Sabbath  was  retained  and  ob- 
served by  a  portion  of  the  Anabaptists,  or,  to  use 
a  more  proper  term,  Baptists.  Dr.  Francis  White 
thus  testifies : — 

"They  which  maintain  the  Saturday  Sabbath  to  be  in 
force,  comply  with  some  Anabaptists."" 

In  harmony  with  this  statement  of  Dr.  White, 
is  the  testimony  of  a  French  writer  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  He  names  all  the  classes  of  men 
who  have  borne  the  name  of  Anabaptists.  Of 
one  of  these  classes  he  writes  thus  : — 

"  Some  have  endured  great  torments,  because  they 
would  not  keep  Sundays  and  festival  days,  in  despite  of 
Antichi-ist  :  seeing  they  were  days  appointed  by  Anti- 
christ, they  would  not  hold  forth  any  thing  which  is  like 
unto  him.  Others  observe  these  days,  but  it  is  out  of 
charity."* 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  within  the  limits  of  the 
old  Roman  Empire,  and  in  the  midst  of  those 
countries  that  submitted  to  the  rule  of  the  pope, 

1  Theological  Diet.  art.  Anabaptists. 

2  Hist.  Church,  vol.  i.  pp.  183,  184. 

3  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  daj,  p.  132.  He  cites  Hist.  Ana- 
bapt.  lib.  6,  p.  153. 

■*  The  Rise,  Spring,  and  Foundation  of  the  Anabaptists  or  Re- 
baptized  of  our  Times.     By  Guy  de  Brez,  A.  D.  loOn. 


424  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

God  reserved  unto  himself  a  people  that  did  not 
bow  the  knee  to  Baal,  and  among  these  the  Bible 
Sabbath  was  observed  from  age  to  age.  We  are 
now  to  search  for  the  Sabbath  among  those  who 
were  never  subjected  to  the  Roman  pontiff.  In 
Central  Africa,  from  the  first  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian era — possibly  from  the  time  of  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Ethiopian  officer  of  great  authority^ 
but  very  certainly  as  early  as  A.  D.  330  ^ — have 
existed  tlie  churches  of  Abyssinia  and  Ethiopia. 
About  the  time  of  the  accession  of  the  Roman 
Bishop  to  supremacy,  they  were  lost  sight  of  by 
the  nations  of  Europe.  "Encompassed  on  all 
sides,"  says  Gibbon,  "  by  the  enemies  of  their  re- 
ligion, the  Ethiopians  slept  near  a  thousand  years, 
forgetful  of  the  world,  by  whom  they  were  for- 
gotten."^ In  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  they  were  again  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  by  the  discovery  of  Portuguese 
navigators.  Undoubtedly  they  have  been  greatly 
affected  by  the  dense  darkness  of  pagan  and  Ma- 
hometan errors  with  wliich  they  are  encompassed ; 
and  in  many  respects  they  have  lost  the  pure  and 
spiritual  religion  of  our  divine  Redeemer.  A 
modern  traveler  says  of  them :  "  They  have  di- 
vers errors  and  many  ancient  truths."  "^  Michsel 
Geddes  says  of  them : — 

"The  Abyssinians  do  hokl  the  Scriptures  to  be  the 
l)erfect  rule  of  tlie  Christian  faith  ;  insomuch  that  they 
deny  it  to  be  in  the  power  of  a  general  council  to  oblige 
people  to  believe  anything  as  an  article  of  faith  without 
an  express  warrant  from  thence."^ 

1  Acts  8  :  20-40. 

^M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopaedia,  vol.  i.  p.  40. 

3  Dec.  and  Fall,  chap,  xlvii. 

<Maxson'K  Hist.  Sab.  p.  83,  ed.  1844. 

•■'Church  Hist,  of  Ethiopia,  p.  31. 


THE  SABBATH  IX  THE  DARK  AGES.      425 

They  practice  circumcision,  but  for  other  rea- 
sons than  that  of  a  religious  duty.^  Geddes  fur- 
ther states  their  views  : — •' 

' '  Transubstantiation  and  the  adoration  of  the  conse- 
crated bread  in  the  sacrament,  were  what  the  Abyssin- 
ians  abhorred.  .  .  .  They  deny  purgatory,  and  know 
nothing  of  confirmation  and  extreme  unction  ;  they  con- 
demn graven  images  ;  they  keep  both  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day."^ 

Their  views  of  the  Sabbath  are  stated  by  the 
ambassador  of -the  king  of  Ethiopia,  at  the  court 
of  Lisbon,  in  the  following  words,  explaining 
their  abstinence  from  all  labor  on  that  day : — 

' '  Because  God,  after  he  had  finished  the  creation  of 
the  world,  rested  thereon  ;  which  day,  as  God  would  have 
it  called  the  holy  of  holies,  so  the  not  celebrating  thereof 
with  great  honor  and  devotion,  seems  to  be  plainly  con- 
trary to  God's  will  and  precept,  who  will  sufier  heaven 
and  earth  to  pass  away  sooner  than  his  word  ;  and  that 
especially,  since  Christ  came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but 
to  fulfill  it.  It  is  not  therefore  in  imitation  of  the  Jews, 
but  in  obedience  to  Christ  and  his  holy  apostles,  that  we 
observe  that  day."^ 

The  ambassador  states  their  reasons  for  first- 
day  observance  in  these  words  : — 

"We  do  observe  the  Lord's  day  after  the  manner  of 
all  other  Christians  in  memory  of  Christ's  resurrection."* 

He  had  no  scripture  to  offer  in  support  of  this 
festival,  and  evidently  rested  its  observance  upon 
tradition.  This  account  was  given  by  the  am- 
bassador in  1534.  In  the  early  part  of  the  next 
century  the  emperor  of  Abyssinia  was  induced 

^Id.  p.  96  ;  Gibbon,  chap.  xv.  note  25  ;  chap,  xlvii.  note  ICO. 
M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol.  i.  p.  40, 

2  Church  Hist.  Ethiopia,  pp.  34,  35;  Purchas's  Pilgrimage, 
book  ii.  chap.  v. 

3Ch.  Hist.  Eth.  pj).  sr,  88.  %  J  Id.  lb. 

Sabbath  Hist'^iv-.  -^js* 


426  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

to  submit  to  the  pope  in  these  words  :  "  I  confess 
that  the  pope  is  the  vicar  of  Christ,  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter,  and  the  sovereign  of  the  world.  To 
him  I  swear  true  obedience,  and  at  his  feet  I  of- 
fer my  person  and  kingdom."  ^  No  sooner  had 
the  Roman  bishop  thus  brought  the  emperor  to 
submit  to  him  than  that  potentate  was  compelled 
to  gratify  the  popish  hatred  of  the  Sabbath  by 
an  edict  forbidding  its  further  observance.  In 
the  words  of  Geddes,  he  "  set  forth  a  proclama- 
tion prohibiting  all  his  subjects  upon  severe  pen- 
alties to  observe  Saturday  any  longer."  ^  Or  as 
Gibbon  expresses  it,  "  The  Abyssinians  were  en- 
joined to  work  and  to  play  on  the  Sabbath." 
But  the  tyranny  of  the  Romanists,  after  a  terri- 
ble struggle,  caused  their  overthrow  and  banish- 
ment, and  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  faith. 
The  churches  resounded  with  a  song  of  triumph, 
" '  that  the  sheep  of  Ethiopia  were  now  delivered 
from  the  hysenas  of  the  West ;'  and  the  gates  of 
that  solitary  realm  were  forever  shut  against  the 
arts,  the  science,  and  the  fanaticism  of  Europe."  ^ 
We  have  proved  in  a  former  chapter  that  the 
Sabbath  was  extensively  observed  as  late  as  the 
middle  of  the  fifth  century  in  the  so-called  Cath- 
olic church,  especially  in  that  portion  most  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  Abyssinians;  and 
that  from  various  causes,  Sunday  obtained  cer- 
tain Sabbatic  honors,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  two  days  were  called  sisters.  We  have  also 
shown  in  another  chapter  that  the  effectual  sup- 
pression of  the  Sabbath  in  Europe  is  mainly  due 
to  papal  influence.     And  so  for  a  thousand  years 


1  Gibbon,  chap,  xlvii. 

••«Ch.  Hist.  Eth.  pp.  311,  812  ;  Gobat's  Abyssinia,  pp.  83,  93. 

'  Gibbon,  chap,  xlvii. 


THE  SABBATH  IX  THE  DARK  AGES.       427 

we  have  been  tracing  its  history  in  the  records 
of  those  men  which  the  church  of  Rome  has 
sought  to  kill. 

These  facts  are  strikingly  corroborated  by  the 
case  of  the  Ab3^ssinians.  In  consequence  of  their 
location  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  the  Abyssinians 
ceased  to  be  known  to  the  rest  of  Christendom 
about  the  fifth  centur}^.  At  this  point,  the  Sab- 
bath and  the  Sunday  in  the  Catholic  church 
were  counted  sisters.  One  thousand  years  later, 
these  African  churches  are  \dsited,  and  though 
surrounded  by  the  thick  darkness  of  pagan  and 
Mahometan  superstition,  and  somewhat  affected 
thereby,  they  are  found  at  the  end  of  this  period 
holding  the  Sabbath  and  first-day  substantially 
as  held  by  the  Catholic  church  when  they  were 
lost  sight  of  by  it.  The  Catholics  of  Europe  on 
the  contrary  had,  in  the  meantime,  trampled  the 
ancient  Sabbath  in  the  dust.  Why  was  this 
great  contrast  ?  Simply  because  the  pope  ruled 
in  Europe,  while  central  Africa,  whatever  else  it 
may  have  suffered,  was  not  cursed  with  his  pres- 
ence nor  with  his  influence.  But  so  soon  as  the 
pope  learned  of  the  existence  of  the  Abyssinian 
churches,  he  sought  to  gain  control  of  them,  and 
when  he  had  gained  it,  one  of  his  first  acts  was 
to  suppress  the  Sabbath  !  In  the  end,  the  Abys- 
sinians regained  their  independence,  and  thence- 
forward till  the  present  time  have  held  fast  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord. 

The  Armenians  of  the  East  Indies  are  pecul- 
iarly worthy  of  our  attention.  J.  W.  Massie,  M. 
R.  I.  A.,  says  of  the  East  Indian  Christians : — 

"  Remote  from  the  busy  haunts  of  commerce,  or  the 
populous  seats  of  manufacturing  industry,  they  may  be 
regarded  as  the  eastern  Piedmontese,  the  Yallois  of  Hin- 


428  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

doostan,  the  witnesses  prophesying  in  sackcloth  through 
revolving  centuries,  though  indeed  their  bodies  lay  as 
dead  in  the  streets  of  the  city  which  they  had  once  peo- 
pled."^ 

Geddes  says  of  tbose  in  Malabar : — 

''The  tliree  great  doctrines  of  popery,  the  pope's  su- 
premacy, trans ubstantiation,  the  adoration  of  images, 
were  never  believed  nor  practiced  at  any  time  in  this  an- 
cient apostolical  church.  ...  I  think  one  may  venture 
to  say  that  before  the  time  of  the  late  Reformation,  there 
was  no  church  that  we  know  of,  no,  not  that  of  the  Vaudois, 
....  that  had  so  few  errors  in  doctrine  as  the  church 
of  Malabar."  He  adds  concerning  those  churches  that 
"were  never  within  the  bounds  of  the  Roman  Empire," 
"It  is  in  those  churches  that  we  are  to  meet  with  the 
least  of  the  leaven  of  popery.  "- 

Mr.  Massie  further  describes  these  Christians: — 

"  The  creed  which  these  representatives  of  an  ancient 
line  of  Christians  cherished  was  not  in  conformity  with 
papal  decrees,  and  has  with  difficulty  been  squared  with 
the  thii-ty-nine  articles  of  the  Anglican  episcopacy.  Sep- 
arated from  the  western  world  for  a  thousand  years,  they 
were  naturally  ignorant  of  many  novelties  introduced  by 
the  councils  and  decrees  of  the  Lateran  ;  and  their  con- 
formity vnth  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  first  ages,  laid  them 
open  to  the  unpardonable  guilt  of  heresy  and  schism,  as 
estimated  by  the  church  of  E,ome.  '  We  are  Christians 
and  not  idolaters,'  was  their  expressive  reply  when  re- 
quired to  do  homage  to  the  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  . 
...  La  Croze  states  them  at  fifteen  hundred  churches, 
and  as  many  towns  and  villages.  They  refused  to  recog- 
nize the  l>ope,  and  declared  they  had  never  heard  of  liim  ; 
they  asserted  the  purity  and  primitive  truth  of  their 
faith  since  they  came,  and  their  bishops  had  for  thirteen 
hundred  years  been  sent  from  the  place  where  the  follow- 
ers of  Jesus  were  first  called  Christians."^ 

The  Sabbatarian  character  of  these  Christians 


'Continental  India,  vol.  ii.  p.  12^. 

5  Acts  and  Docreos  of  tlie  Svnod  of  Diaiiijii.T,  preface. 

MJontincutallndia,  vol.  ii.pi..  lltl,  117. 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.       429 

is  hinted  by  Mr.  Yeates.  He  says  that  Saturday 
"  amongst  them  is  a  festival  day,  agreea  hie  to 
the  ancient  pvoxtice  of  the  church!'  ^ 

"The  ancient  practice  of  the  church,"  as  we 
have  seen,  was  to  hallow  the  seventh  day  in 
memory  of  the  Creator's  rest.  This  practice  has 
been  suppressed  wherever  the  great  apostasy 
has  had  power  to  do  it.  But  the  Christians  of 
the  East  Indies,  like  those  of  Abyssinia,  have 
lived  sufficiently  remote  from  Rome  to  be  pre- 
served in  some  decrree  from  its  blastino:  influence. 
The  same  fact  is  further  hinted  by  the  same 
writer  in  the  following  lavUguage  : — 

' '  The  inquisition  was  set  up  at  Goa  in  the  Indies,  at 
the  instance  of  Francis  Xaverius  [a  famous  Romish  saint] 
who  signified  by  letters  to  Pope  John  III. ,  Nov.  10,  1545, 
*  That  the  Jewish  wickedness  spread  every  day  more  and 
more  in  the  parts  of  the  East  Indies  subject  to  the  kingdom 
of  Portugal,  and  therefore  he  earnestly  besought  the  said 
king,  that  to  cure  so  great  an  evil  he  would  take  care  to 
send  the  office  of  the  inquisition  into  those  countries."" 

"The  Jewish  wickedness"  was  doubtless  the 
observance  of  Saturday  as  "  a  festival  day  agree- 
able to  the  ancient  practice  of  the  church"  of 
which  this  author  had  just  spoken.  The  history 
of  the  past,  as  we  have  seen,  shows  the  hatred 
of  the  papal  church  toward  the  Sabbath.  And 
the  struggle  of  that  church  to  suppress  the  Sab- 
bath in  Abyssinia,  and  to  subject  that  people  to 
the  pope  which  at  this  very  point  of  time  was 
just  commencing,  shows  that  the  Jesuits  would 
not  willingly  tolerate  Sabbatic  observance  in  the 
East  Indies,  even  though  united  with  the  observ- 
ance of  Sunday  also. 

lEast  Indian  Church  History,  pp.  133,  131. 
2  Id.  pp.  130,  140. 


430  HISTORY    OF    THE   SABBATH. 

It  appears  therefore  that  this  Jesuit  mission- 
ary desired  the  pope  and  the  king  of  Portugal  to 
establish  the  inquisition  in  that  part  of  the  Indies 
subject  to  Portugal,  in  order  to  root  out  the  Sab- 
bath from  those  ancient  churches.  The  inquisi- 
tion was  established  in  answer  to  this  prayer, 
and  Xavier  was  subsequently  canonized  as  a 
saint !  Nothing  can  more  clearly  show  the  ma- 
lignity of  the  Roman  pontiff  toward  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord  ;  and  nothing  more  clearly  illustrates 
the  kind  of  men  that  he  canonizes  as  saints. 

Since  the  time  of  Xavier,  the  East  Indies  have 
fallen  under  British  rule.  A  distinguished  cler- 
gyman of  the  church  of  England  some  years 
since  visited  the  British  Empire  in  India,  for 
the  purpose  of  acquainting  himself  with  these 
churches.  He  gave  the  following  deeply  inter- 
esting sketch  of  these  ancient  Christians,  and  in 
it  particularly  marks  their  Sabbatarian  charac- 
ter : — 

' '  The  history  of  the  Armenian  church  is  very  interest- 
ing. Of  all  the  Christians  in  Central  Asia,  they  have 
preserv^ed  themselves  most  free  from  Mahometan  and  pa- 
pal corruptions.  The  pope  assailed  them  for  a  time  with 
great  violence,  but  with  little  effect.  The  churches  in 
lesser  Armenia  indeed  consented  to  an  union,  which  did 
not  long  continue  ;  but  those  in  Persian  Armenia  main- 
tained their  independence  ;  and  they  retain  their  ancient 
Scriptures,  doctrines,  and  worship,  to  this  day.  '  It  is 
marvelous,'  says  an  intelligent  traveler  who  Avas  much 
among  them,  '  hoAV  the  Armenian  Christians  have  pre- 
served their  faith,  equally  against  the  vexatious  oppres- 
sion of  the  Mahometans,  their  sovereigns,  and  against 
the  persuasions  of  the  Romish  church,  which  for  more 
than  two  centuries  has  endeavored,  by  missionaries, 
priests  and  monks,  to  attach  them  to  her  communion. 
It  is  impossil)le  to  describe  the  artifices  and  expenses  of 
the  court  of  Rome  to  effect  this  object,  but  all  in  vain.' 

''Tlie  Bible  was  translated  into  the  Armenian  language 


THE  SABBATH  IN  THE  DARK  AGES.       431 

in  the  fifth  century,  under  very  auspicious  circumstances, 
the  history  of  which  has  come  down  to  us.  It  has  been 
allowed  by  competent  judges  of  the  language,  to  be  a  most 
faithful  translation.  La  Cruze  calls  it  the  '  Queen  of  Ver- 
sions.' This  Bible  has  ever  remained  in  the  possession  of 
the  Armenian  people ;  and  many  illustrious  instances  of 
geniiine  and  enlightened  piety  occur  in  their  history.  .  . 
''The  Armenians  in  Hindoostan  are  our  own  subjects. 
They  acknowledge  our  government  in  India,  as  they  do 
that  of  the  Sophi  in  Persia ;  and  they  are  entitled  to  our 
regard.  They  have  preserved  the  Bible  in  its  purity; 
and  their  doctrines  are,  as  far  as  the  author  knows,  the 
doctrines  of  the  Bible.  Besides,  they  maintain  the  sol- 
emn observance  of  Christian  worship  throughout  our  em- 
pire, ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY,  and  they  have  as  many  spires 
pointing  to  heaven  among  the  Hindoos  as  we  ourselves. 
Are  such  a  people  then  entitled  to  no  acknowledgment  on 
our  part,  as  fellow  Christians?  Are  they  forever  to  be 
ranked  by  us  with  Jews,  Mahometans,  and  Hindoos?"^ 

It  has  been  said,  however,  that  Buchanan 
might  have  intended  Sunday  by  the  term  "sev- 
enth day."  This  is  a  very  unreasonable  inter- 
pretation of  his  words.  Episcopalian  clergymen 
are  not  accustomed  to  call  Sunday  the  seventh 
day.  We  have,  however,  testimony  which  cz^a- 
not  with  candor  be  explained  away.  It  is  that 
of  Purchas,  written  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  author  speaks  of  sev^eral  sects  of  the  eastern 
Christians  "  continuing  from  ancient  times,"  as 
Syrians,  Jacobites,  Nestorians,  Maronites,  and 
Armenians.  Of  the  Syrians,  or  Surians,  as  he 
variously  spells  the  name,  who,  from  his  relation, 
appear  to  be  identical  with  the  Armenians,  he 
says : — 

"  They  keep  Saturday  holy,  nor  esteem  Saturday  fast 
lawful  but  on  Easter  even.  They  have  solemn  service  on 
Saturdays,  eat  flesh,  and  feast  it  bravely  like  the  Jews."^ 

1  Buchanan's  Christian  Researches  in  Asia,  pp   159,  IGO. 

2  Purchas  His  Pilgrimcs,  part  ii.  book  viii.  chap.  vi.   sect.  5, 


432  HISTORY    OF   THE    SABBATH. 

This  author  speaks  of  these  Christians  disre- 
spectfully, but  he  uses  the  uncandid  statements 
of  their  adversaries,  which,  indeed,  are  no  worse 
than  those  often  made  in  these  days  concerning 
those  who  hallow  the  Bible  Sabbath.  These 
facts  clearly  attest  the  continued  observance  of 
the  Sabbath  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Dark 
Ages.  The  church  of  Rome  was  indeed  able  to 
exterminate  the  Sabbath  from  its  own  commun- 
ion, but  it  was  retained  by  the  true  people  of 
God,  who  were  measurably  hidden  from  the  pa- 
pacy in  the  wilds  of  Central  Europe ;  while  those 
African  and  East  Indian  churches,  that  were 
never  within  the  limits  of  the  pope's  dominion, 
have  steadfastly  retained  the  Sabbath  to  the 
present  day. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


POSITION  OF  THE  REFORMERS  CONCERNING  THE 
"  SABBATH  AND  FIRST  DAY. 

The  Reformation  arose  in  the  Catholic  church — The  Sabbath 
had  been  crushed  out  of  that  church,  and  innumerable  fes- 
tivals established  in  its  stead — Sunday  as  observed  by 
Luther,  Melancthon,  Zwingle,  Beza,  Bucer,  Cranmer,  and 
Tyndaie — The  position  of  Calvin  stated  at  length  and  il- 
lustrated— Knox  agreed  with  Calvin — Sunday  in  Scotland 
A.  I).  1001 — IIow  we  should  view  the  Reformers. 

The  great  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury arose  from  the  bosom  of  the  Catkolic  church 

p.  12G9,  London,  1025.    The  "Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  vol,  viii. 

E.  Cys,  eighth  ed.,  speaks  of  Purchas  as  "  an  Englishman  admira- 
ly  skilled  in  language  and  human  and  divine  arts,  a  very  great 
philosopher,  historian,  and  theologian." 


POSITION    OF    THE    REFORMERS.  433 

itself.  From  that  church  the  Sabbath  had  long 
been  extirpated ;  and  instead  of  that  merciful  in- 
stitution ordained  by  the  divine  Lawgiver  for  the 
rest  and  refreshment  of  mankind,  and  that  man 
might  acknov/ledge  God  as  his  Creator,  the  pa- 
pacy had  ordained  innumerable  festivals,  which, 
as  a  terrible  burden,  crushed  the  people  to  the 
earth.  These  festivals  are  thus  enumerated  by 
Dr.  Heylyn : — 

' '  These  holy  clays  as  they  were  named  particularly  in 
Pope  Gregory's  decretal,  so  was  a  perfect  list  made  of 
them  in  the  Syiiod  of  Lyons,  a.  d.  1244,  which  being  cel- 
ebrated with  a  great  concourse  of  people  from  all  parts  of 
Christendom,  the  canons  and  decrees  thereof  began 
forthwith  to  find  a  general  admittance.  The  holy  days 
allowed  of  there,  were  these  that  follow  ;  viz.,  the  feast 
of  Christ's  nativity,  St.  Stephen,  St.  John  the  evangelist, 
the  Innocents,  St.  Sylvester,  the  circumcision  of  our 
Lord,  the  Epiphany,  Easter,  together  with  the  week  pre- 
cedent, and  the  week  succeeding,  the  three  days  in  roga- 
tion week,  the  day  of  Christ's  ascension,  Whitsunday, 
with  the  two  days  after,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  the  feasts 
of  all  the  twelve  apostles,  all  the  festivities  of  our  Lady, 
St.  Lawrence,  all  the  Lord's  days  in  the  year,  St. 
Michael  the  Archangel,  All  Saints,  St.  Martin's,  the 
wakes,  or  dedication  of  particular  churches,  together  with 
the  feasts  of  such  topical  or  local  saints  which  some  par- 
ticular people  had  been  pleased  to  honor  with  a  day  par- 
ticular amongst  themselves.  On  these  and  every  one  of 
them,  the  people  were  restrained  as  before  was  said  from 
many  several  kinds  of  work,  on  pain  of  ecclesiastical  cen- 
sures to  be  laid  on  them  v/hich  did  ofiend,  unless  on  some 
emergent  causes,  either  of  charity  or  necessity  they  were 
dispensed  with  for  so  doing.  .  .  .  Peter  de  Aliaco, 
Cardinal  of  Cambray,  in  a  discourse  by  him  exhibited 
to  the  council  of  Constance  [a.  d.  1416]  made  public  suit 
unto  the  fathers  there  assembled,  that  there  might  [be]  a 
stop  in  that  kind  hereafter  ;  as  also  that  excepting  Sun- 
days and  the  greater  festivals  it  might  be  lawful  for  the 
people,  after  the  end  of  divine  service  to  attend  their  bus- 
iness; the  poor  especially,  as  having  little  time  enough 
on  the  working  days  to  get  their  living.     But  these  were 


43-i  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

only  the  expressions  of  well-wisliing  men.  The  popes 
were  otherwise  resolved,  and  did  not  only  keep  the  holy 
days  which  they  found  established,  in  the  same  state  in 
Avhich  they  found  them,  but  added  others  daily  as  they 

saw  occasion Thus  stood  it  as  before  I  said, 

both  for  the  doctrine  and  the  practice,  till  men  began  to 
look  into  the  errors  and  abuses  in  the  Roman  church 
with  a  more  serious  eye  than  before  they  did."^ 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  the  I'eform- 
ers  began  their  labors.  That  they  should  give  up 
these  festivals  and  return  to  the  observance  of 
the  ancient  Sabbath,  would  be  expecting  too 
much  of  men  educated  in  the  bosom  of  the  Rom- 
ish church.  Indeed,  it  ought  not  to  surprise  us 
that,  while  they  were  constrained  to  strike  down 
the  authority  of  these  festivals,  they  should  nev- 
ertheless retain  the  most  important  of  them  in 
their  observance.  The  reformers  spoke  on  this 
matter  as  follows  :  The  Confession  of  the  Swiss 
churches  declares  that, 

' '  The  observance  of  the  Lord's  day  is  founded  not  on  any 
commandment  of  God,  but  on  the  authority  of  the  church  ; 
and,  That  the  church  may  alter  the  day  at  pleasure. "- 

We  further  learn  that, 

^'  In  the  Augsburg  Confession  which  was  drawn  up  by 
Melancthon  [and  approved  by  Luther],  to  the  question, 
'  What  ought  we  to  think  of  the  Lord's  day  V  it  is  an- 
swered that  the  Lord's  day,  Easter,  Whitsuntide,  and 
other  such  holy  days,  ought  to  be  kept  because  they  are 
appointed  by  the  church,  that  all  things  may  be  done  in 
order;  but  that  the  observance  of  them  is  not  to  be 
thought  necessary  to  salvation,  nor  the  violation  of  them, 
if  it  be  done  without  offense  to  others,  to  be  regarded  as 
a  sin."^ 

Zwingle  declared  "  that  it  was  lawful  on  the 

•  Ilist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  vi.  sects.  3,  T). 

2  Cox's  Sabbath  Laws,  &c.  p.  2S7.  ^  Id-  lb 


POSITION    OF    THE    REFORIIEIIS.  435 

Lord's  day,  after  divine  service,  for  any  man  to 
pursue  his  labors."^  Beza  taught  that  "no  ces- 
sation of  work  on  the  Lord's  day  is  required  of 
Christians.""  Bucer  oroes  further  vet,  "  and  doth 
not  only  call  it  a  superstition,  but  an  apostasy 
from  Christ  to  think  that  working  on  the  Lord's 
day,  in  itself  considered,  is  a  sinful  thing." ^  And 
Cranmer,  in  his  Catechism,  published  in  1548, 
says  :— 

'•  AYe  now  keep  no  more  the  Sabbath  on  Saturday  as 
the  Jews  do  ;  but  we  observe  the  Sundaj^,  and  certain 
other  days  as  the  magistrates  do  judge  convenient,  whom 
in  this  thing  we  ought  to  obey."* 

Tyndale  said : — 

'^  As  for  the  Sabbath,  we  be  lords  over  the  Sabbath, 
and  may  yet  change  it  into  Monday,  or  into  any  other 
day  as  we  see  need,  or  may  make  every  tenth  day  holy 
day  only  if  we  see  cause  why."^ 

It  is  plain  that  both  Cranmer  and  Tyndale  be- 
lieved that  the  ancient  Sabbath  was  abolished, 
and  that  Sunday  was  only  a  human  ordinance 
which  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  magistrates  and 
the  church  lawfully  to  change  whenever  they 
saw  cause  for  so  doing.  And,  Dr.  Hessey  gives 
the  opinion  of  Zv/ingJe  respecting  the  present 
power  of  each  individual  church  to  transfer  the 
so-called  Lord's  day  to  another  day,  whenever 
necessity  urges,  as,  for  example,  in  harvest  time. 
Thus  Zwingle  says  : — 

"If  we  would  have  the  Lord's  day  so  bound  to  time 
that  it  shall  be  v/ickedness  to  transfer  it  to  another  time, 
in  which  resting  from  our  labors  equally  as  in  that,  we 
may  hear  the  word  of  God,  if  necessity  haply  shall  so  re- 
quii'e,  this  day  so  solicitously  observed,  would  obtrude 

1  Cox's  Sabbath  Laws,  &c.  p.  2s7.         =  Id.  p.  28r..         3  id.  lb. 
*  Id.  p.  28'J.     ^Tyndale's  Answer  to  More,  book  i.  chap.  xxv. 


436  HISTORY    OF    TIIK    SABBATH. 

on  us  as  a  ceremony.  For  we  are  no  way  bound  to  time, 
but  time  ought  so  to  serve  us,  that  it  is  lawful,  and  per- 
mitted to  each  church,  when  necessity  urges  (^s  is  usual 
to  be  done  in  harvest  time),  to  transfer  the  solemnity  and 
rest  of  the  Lord's  day,  or  Sabbath,  to  some  other  day."^ 

Zwingle  could  not,  therefore,  have  considered 
Sunday  as  a  divinely  appointed  memorial  of  the 
resurrection,  or,  indeed,  as  anything  but  a  xjhurch 
festival. 

John  Calvin  said,  respecting  the  origin  of  the 
Sunday  festival : — 

"However,  the  ancients  have  not  without  sufficient 
reason  substituted  what  lue  call  the  Lord's  day  in  the 
room  of  the  Sabbath.  For  since  the  resurrection  of  the 
Lord  is  the  end  and  consummation  of  that  true  rest, 
which  was  adumbrated  by  the  ancient  Sabbath ;  the  same 
day  which  put  an  end  to  the  shadows,  admonishes  Chris- 
tians not  to  adhere  to  a  shadowy  ceremony.  Yet  I  do 
not  lay  so  much  stress  on  the  septenary  number  that  I 
would  oblige  the  church  to  an  invariable  adherence  to  it ; 
nor  will  I  condemn  those  churches,  which  have  other  sol- 
emn days  for  their  assemblies,  provided  they  keep  at  a 
distance  from  superstition." - 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  Calvin  does  not  as- 
sign to  Christ  and  his  disciples  the  establishment  of 
Sunday  in  the  place  of  the  Sabbath.  He  says  this 
was  done  by  the  ''ancients,"^  or  as  another  trans- 
lates it,  "  the  old  fathers."  Nor  does  he  say  "  the 
day  which  John  called  the  Lord's  day,"  but  "the 
day  which  vje  call  the  Lord's  day."     And  v^hat  is 

I  worthy  of  particular  notice  he  did  not  insist  that 
the  day  which  should  be  appropriated  to  worship 
should  be  one  day  in  every  seven;  for  he  was 

'  Hessey,  p.  2'>-2. 

» Calvin's  Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion,  book  ii.  chap, 
viii.  scot.  34,  translated  bv  John  Alien. 

■•'Qmuuiuain  non  sine  delectu  Dorainicum  quern  vocamus  diem 
veteres  in  locum  Sabbathi  subrogarunt. 


POSITION    OF    THE    REFORMERS.  437 

not  tied  to  "the  septenary  number."  The  day- 
might  come  once  in  six  days,  or  once  in  eight. 
And  this  proves  conclusively  that  he  did  not  re- 
gard Sunday  as  a  divine  institution  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  word ;  for  if  he  had,  he  would  most 
assuredly  have  felt  that  the  festival  must  be  sep- 
tenary, that  is,  weekly,  and  that  he  must  urge 
"  the  church  to  an  invariable  adherence  to  it." 
But  Calvin  does  not  leave  the  matter  here.  He 
condemns  as  "false  prophets"  those  who  at- 
tempt to  enforce  the  Sunday  festival  by  means  of 
the  fourth  commandment ;  and  who  to  do  this  say 
that  the  ceremonial  part,  which  requires  the  ob- 
servance of  the  definite  seventh  day,  is  abolished, 
while  the  moral  part,  which  simply  commands 
the  observance  of  one  day  in  seven,  still  remains 
in  force.     Here  are  his  words  : — 

''Thus  vanish  all  the  dreams  of  false  prophets,  who  in 
past  ages  have  infected  the  people  with  a  Jewish  notion, 
affirming  that  nothing  but  the  ceremonial  part  of  the  com- 
mandment, which  according  to  them  is  the  appointment 
of  the  seventh  day,  has  been  abrogated,  but  that  the 
moral  part  of  it,  that  is  the  observance  of  one  day  in 
seven,  still  remains.  But  this  is  only  changing  the  day 
in  contempt  of  the  Jews,  while  they  retain  the  same 
opinion  of  the  holiness  of  a  day." ^ 

Yet  these  very  "  dreams  of  false  prophets,"  to 
use  the  words  of  Calvin,  constitute  the  founda- 
tion of  the  modern  doctrine  of  the  change  of  the 
Sabbath.  For  whatever  may  be  said  of  first-day 
sacred ness  in  the  New  Testament,  the  fourth 
commandment  can  only  be  made  to  recognize 
that  day  by  means  of  this  very  doctrine  of  one 
day  in  seven  which  Calvin  so  sharply  denounces. 
Now  I  state  another  important  fact.     Calvin's 


'  Calviii'-s  lustiliitcs,  book  ii.  chiip.  viii.  sect,  o-L 


438  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

commentaries  on  the  New  Testament  cover  all 
the  books  from  which  quotations  are  made  in  be- 
half of  Sunday  except  the  book  of  Revelation. 
What  does  Calvin  say  concerning  the  change  of 
the  Sabbath  in  the  record  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion?^ Not  one  word.  He  does  not  even  hint 
at  any  sacredness  in  the  day,  nor  any  commemo- 
ration of  the  day.  Does  he  say  that  the  meeting 
"  after  eight  da3^s  "  was  upon  Sunday  ?  He  does 
not  say  what  day  it  was.^  What  does  he  say  of 
Sunday  in  treating  of  the  day  of  Pentecost?^ 
Nothing.  He  does  not  so  much  as  say  that  this 
festival  was  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  What 
does  he  say  of  the  breaking  of  bread  at  Troas  ? 
He  thinks  it  took  place  upon  the  ancient  Sab- 
bath !     He  says : — 

''Either  he  doth  mean  the  first  day  of  the  week,  which 
was  next  after  the  Sabbath,  or  else  some  certain  Sabbath. 
Wliicli  latter  thing  may  seem  to  me  more  probable  ;  for 
this  cause,  because  that  day  was  more  Jit  for  an  assembly, 
according  to  custom.''  * 

He  says,  however,  that  this  place  might  "  very 
well "  be  translated  "  the  morrow  after  the  Sab- 
bath." But  he  adheres  to  his  own  translation, 
"one  day  of  the  Sabbaths,"  and  not  "first  day  of 
the  week."     He  says  further : — 

"For  to  what  end  is  there  mentioned  of  the  Sabbath, 
save  only  that  he  may  note  the  opportunity  and  choice  of 
the  time  ?  Also,  it  is  a  likely  matter  that  Paul  waited 
for  the  Sabbath,  that  the  day  before  his  departure  he 
might  the  more  easily  gather  all  the  disciples  into  one 
place.  "^ 

1  Calvin's  Harmony  of  the  Evangelists  on  Matt.  28;  Mark  16  ; 
Luke  24.  '^  ' 

'Calvin's  Commentary  on  John  20. 
'Calvin's  Commentary  on  Acts  2:1. 
<  Calvin's  Commentary  on  Acts  20  :7,  »Id.  lb. 


POSITION    OF    TilE    REFORMERS.  439 

"Therefore,  I  think  thus,  that  they  had  appomted  a 
solemn  day  for  the  celebrating  of  the  holy  supper  of  the 
Lord  among  themselves,  which  might  be  commodious  for 
them  all. "  ^ 

This  shows  conckisively  that  Calvin  believed 
the  Sabbath,  and  not  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
to  have  been  the  day  for  meetings  in  the  apostolic 
church.  But  what  does  he  say  of  the  laying  by 
in  store  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  ?  He  says 
that  Paul's  precept  relates,  not  to  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  but  to  the  Sabbath  !  And  he  marks 
the  Sabbath  as  the  day  on  which  the  sacred  as- 
semblies were  held,  and  the  communion  cele- 
brated, and  says  that  on  account  of  these  things 
this  was  the  most  convenient  day  for  collecting 
their  contribution.     Thus  he  writes  : — 

"  On  one  of  the  Sahhaths.  The  end  is  this — that  they 
may  have  their  alms  ready  in  time.  He  therefore  ex- 
horts them  not  to  wait  till  he  came,  as  any  thing  that  is 
done  suddenly,  and  in  a  bustle,  is  not  done  well,  but  to 
contribute  on  the  Sabbath  what  might  seem  good,  and 
according  as  every  one's  ability  might  enable — that  is  on 
the  day  on  which  they  held  their  sacred  assemblies.^ 

"  For  he  has  an  eye,  first  of  all,  to  convenience,  and 
farther,  that  the  sacred  assembly,  in  which  the  commun- 
ion of  saints  is  celebrated,  might  be  an  additional  spur  to 
them.  Nor  am  I  inclined  to  admit  the  view  taken  by 
Chrysostom — that  the  term  Sahhath  is  employed  here  to 
mean  the  Lord's  clay  (Rev.  1  :  10),  for  the  probability  is, 
that  the  apostles,  at  the  beginning,  retained  the  day  that 
was  already  in  use,  but  that  afterwards,  constrained  by 
the  superstition  of  the  Jews,  they  set  aside  that  day,  and 
substituted  another.  Now  the  Lord's  day  was  made 
choice  of  chiefly  because  our  Lord's  resurrection  put  an 
end  to  the  shadows  of  the  law.  Hence  the  day  itself 
puts  us  in  mind  of  our  Christian  liberty."^ 

These  words  are  very  remarkable.     They  show 

1  Calvin's  Commentarj  on  Acts  20  :7. 

2  Calvin's  Commentary  on  1  Cor.  16  :  2.  ^Id.  lb. 


440  HISTORY    OF    THE    SxVBBATH. 

first,  that  by  the  Sabbath  day  Calvin  means,  not 
the  fii'st  day,  but  the  seventh;  second,  that  in 
his  judgment  as  late  as  the  time  of  this  epistle, 
and  of  the  meeting  at  Troas  [A.  D.  60],  the  Sab- 
bath was  the  day  for  the  sacred  assemblies  of 
the  Christians,  and  for  the  celebration  of  the 
communion ;  third,  "  but  that  afterwards,  con- 
strained by  THE  SUPERSTITION  OF  THE  JEWS,  they 
set  aside  that  day,  and  substituted  another." 

Calvin  did  not  therefore  believe  that  Christ 
changed  the  Sabbath  to  Sunday  to  commemorate 
his  resurrection  ;  for  he  says  that  the  resurrection 
abolished  the  Sabbath,^  and  yet  he  believes  that 
the  Sabbath  was  the  sacred  day  of  the  Christians 
to  tlie  entire  exclusion  of  Sunday  as  late  as  the 
year  GO.  Nor  could  he  believe  that  the  apostles 
set  apart  Sunday  to  commemorate  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  for  he  thinks  that  they  did  not 
make  choice  of  that  day  till  after  the  year  60, 
and  even  then  they  did  it  merely  because  con- 
strained so  to  do  by  the  superstition  of  the  Jews  ! 

Dr.  Hessey  illustrates  Calvin's  ideas  of  Sunday 
observance  by  the  following  incident : — 

"  Knox  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Calvin — visited  Cal- 
vin, and,  it  is  said,  on  one  occasion  found  him  enjoying 
the  recreation  of  bowls  on  Sunday.  "- 

Without  doubt  Calvin  was  acting  in  exact  har- 
mony with  his  ideas  of  the  nature  of  the  Sunday 
festival.  But  the  famous  case  of  Michael  Ser- 
vetus  furnishes  us  a  still  more  pointed  illustra- 

>  Calvin's  Institutes,  book  ii.  chap.  viii.  sect.  "A. 

^Hesscy's  Bampton  Lectures  on  Sunday,  p.  201,  ed.  1800.  In 
tlic  notes  appended,  p.  300,  he  says  :  "At  Geneva  a  tradition 
exists,  that  wlien  John  Knox  visited  Calvin  on  a  Sunday,  he 
found  his  austere  coadjulor  bowling  on  a  green."  Dr.  Hessey 
evideiiMv  creiblcd  tills  tradition. 


POSITIOX    OF    THE    REFORMERS.  441 

tion  of  his  views  of  the  sacredness  of  that  day. 
Servetus  was  arrested  in  Geneva  on  the  personal 
application  of  John  Calvin  to  the  magistrates  of 
that  city.  Such  is  the  statement  of  Theodore 
Beza,  the  life-long  friend  of  Calvin.^  Beza's 
translator  adds  to  this  fact  the  following  remark- 
able statement : — 

"  Promptness  induced  him  to  have  this  heresiarch  ar- 
rested on  a  Sunday."  - 

The  same  fact  is  stated  by  Robinson : —  ^ 

' '  While  he  waited  for  a  boat  to  cross  the  lake  in  his 
way  to  Zurich,  by  some  means  Calvin  got  intelligence  of 
his  arrival ;  and  although  it  was  on  a  Sunday,  yet  he  pre- 
vailed upon  the  chief  syndic  to  arrest  and  imprison  him. 
On  that  day  by  the  laws  of  Geneva  no  person  could  be 
arrested  except  for  a  capital  crime  ;  but  this  difficulty 
was  easily  removed,  for  John  Calvin  pretended  that  Ser- 
vetus was  a  heretic,  and  that  heresy  was  a  capital  crime.  "^ 

' '  The  doctor  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  on  Sunday 
the  thirteenth  of  August  [a.  d.  1553].  That  very  day  he 
was  brought  into  court."* 

Calvin's  own  words  respecting  the  arrest  are 

these : — 

"  I  will  not  deny  but  that  he  was  made  prisoner  upon 
my  application."  ^ 

The  warmest  friends  of  first-day  sacredness 
will  not  deny  that  the  least  sinful  part  of  this 
transaction  was  that  it  occurred  on  Sunday. 
Nevertheless  the  fact  that  Calvin  caused  the  ar- 
rest of  Servetus  on  that  day  shows  that  he  had 
no  conviction  that  the  day  possessed  any  inher- 
ent sacredness. 

John  Barclay,^  a  learned  man  of  Scotch  descent, 

1  Beza's  Life  of  Calvin,  Sibson's  Translation,  p.  55,  ed.  1836. 

2  Id.  p.  115.  3jEcc1.  Researches,  chap.  x.  p.  338. 

*  Id.  p.  33l».  5  Beza's  Life  of  Calvin,  p.  1G8. 

^M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedi;),  vol.  i.  p.  *>(>:"!. 

Sahbath  Historv.  :i« 


-142  HISTORY    OF    THK    8AHHATH:. 

and  a  moderate  Roman  Catholic,  who  was  born 
soon  after  the  death  of  Calvin,  and  whose  early 
life  was  spent  in  eastern  France,  not  very  remote 
from  Geneva,  published  the  statement  that  Cal- 
vin and  his  friends  at  Geneva 

"  Debated  whether  the  reformed,  for  the  purpose  of 
estranging  themsehxs  more  completely  from  the  Romish 
church,  should  not  adopt  Thursday  as  the  Christian  Sab- 
bath." 

Anoijier  reason  assigned  by  Calvin  for  this 
proposed  change  was, 

"  That  it  would  be  a  proper  instance  of  Christian  lib- 
erty."^ 

This  statement  has  been  credited  by  many 
learned  Protestants,^  some  of  whom  must  be  ac- 
knowledged as  men  of  candor  and  judgment. 
But  Dr.  Twisse^  discredits  Barclay  because  he  did 
not  name  the  individuals  Tvith  whom  Calvin  con- 
sulted, and  produce  them  as  witnesses ;  and  be- 
cause that  King  James  I.  of  England  at  one  time 
suspected  Barclay  of  treachery  toward  him.  But 
no  such  crime  w^as  ever  proved,  nor  does  it  ap- 
pear that  the  king  continued  always  to  hold  him 
in  that  light.^     His  veracity  has  never  been  im- 

1  Hessey,  p.  341,  gives  a  clue  to  the  title  of  Barclay's  work.  It 
was  Paraenesis  ad  Sectaries  hujus  teniporis,  lib.  1,  cap.  13,  p.  160, 
Rome,  1617. 

2  See  Heylyn's  Hist,  of  the  Sabbath,  part  ii.  chapter  vi.  sect.  8  ; 
Morer's  Lord's  Day,  pp.  210,  217,  228  ;  An  Inquiry  into  the  Origin 
of  Septenary  Institutions,  p.  55  ;  The  Modern  Sabbath  Exam- 
ined, p.  26,  Whitaker,  Treacher,  and  Arnot,  London,  1832;  Cox's 
Sabbath  Literature,  vol.  i.  pp.  165,  160  ;  Hessey,  pp.  141,  142, 
108,  341,  and  the  authors  there  cited. 

3  Morality  of  the  Fourth  Commandment,  pp.  32,  36,  39,  40. 

<  In  fact,  the  story  told  by  Twisse  that  Barclay  is  not  to  be  be- 
lieved in  what  he  says  of  Calvin  because  he  was  treacherous  toward 
King  James  I.,  who  for  that  reason  would  not  promote  him  at  his 
court,  appears  to  be  wholly  unfounded.  The  Encyclopedia 
Britannica,  vol.  iv.,  p.  400,  eighth  edition,  assigns  a  very  different 
reason.     It  says :  "In  those  days  a  pension  bestowed  upon  a  Scot- 


POSITION    OK    THE    KEFUR.MKRS.  443 

peached.  The  statement  of  Barclay  may  possi- 
bly be  incorrect,  but  it  is  not  inconsistent  with 
Calvin's  doctrine  that  the  church  is  not  tied  to  a 
festival  that  should  come  once  in  seve.n  days,  even 
as  Tyndale  said  that  they  could  change  the  Sab- 
bath into  Monday  or  could  "  make  every  tenth 
day  holy  day,  only  if  we  see  cause  why,"  and  it  is 
in  perfect  harmony  with  Ca-lvin's  idea  of  Sunday 
sacredness  as  shown  in  his  acts  akeady  noticed. 
Like  the  other  reformers,  Calvin  is  not  always 
consistent  with  himself  in  his  statements.  Nev- 
ertheless, we  have  his  judgment  concerning  the 
several  texts  which  are  used  to  prove  the  change 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  also  respecting  the  theory 
that  the  commandment  may  be  used  to  enforce, 
not  the  seventh  day,  but  one  day  in  seven,  and 
it  is  fatal  to  the  modern  first-day  doctrine. 

John  Knox,  the  great  Scottish  reformer,  was 
theinirmate  friend  of  Calvin,  with  whom  he 
lived  at  Geneva  during  a  portion  of  his  exile  from 
Scotland.  Though  the  foundation  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Scotland  w^as  laid  by  Knox,  or 
rather  by  Calvin,  for  Knox  carried  out  Calvin's 
system,  and  though  that  church  is  now  very  strict 
in  the  observance  of  Sunday  as  the  Sabbath,  yet 
Knox  himself  was  of  Calvin's  mind  as  to  the  ob- 

tish  papist  would  bave  been  numbered  among  tbe  national  griev- 
ances." Tbat  is  to  say,  public  opinion  would  not  then  tolerate  the 
promotion  of  a  Romanist.  But  this  writer  believes  that  the  king 
secretly  favored  Barclay.  Thus  on  page  440  he  adds  :  "  Although 
it  does  not  appear  that  he  obtained  any  regular  provision  from 
the  king,  we  may  perhaps  suppose  that  he  at  least  received  occa- 
sional gratuities."  This  writer  knew  nothing  of  Barclay  as  a  de- 
tected spy  at  the  king's  court.  Of  his  standing  as  a  man,  he  says 
on  p.  441 :  "  If  there  had  been  any  remarkable  blemish  in  the 
morals  of  Barclay,  some  of  his  numerous  adversaries  would  have 
pointed  it  out."  M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol.  1,  p. 
663,  says  that  he  "would  doubtless  have  succeeded  at  court  had 
he  not  been  a  Romanist."  See  also  Knight's  Cyclopedia  of  Biogra- 
phy, article  Barclay. 


444  HISTORY   OF    THE   SABBATH. 

ligation  of  that  day.  The  original  Confession  of 
Faith  of  that  church  was  drawn  up  by  Knox  in 
A.  D.  1560.^  In  that  document  Knox  states  the 
duties  of  the  first  table  of  the  law  as  follows  : — 

"  To  have  one  God,  to  worship  and  honor  him  ;  to  call 
upon  him  in  all  our  troubles  ;  to  reverence  his  holy  name  ; 
to  hear  his  word  ;  to  believe  the  same  ;  to  communicate 
with  his  holy  sacraments,  are  the  works  of  the  first  ta- 
ble. "= 

It  is  plain  that  Knox  believed  the  Sabbath 
commandment  to  have  been  stricken  out  of  the 
first  table.  Dr.  Hessey,  after  speaking  of  certain 
references  to  Sunday  in  a  subsequent  work  of  his, 
makes  this  statement  respecting  the  present  doc- 
trine of  the  Sabbath  in  the  Presbyterian  church  :— 

"  On  the  whole,  whatever  the  language  held  at  present 
in  Scotland  may  be,  it  is  certainly  not  owing  to  the  great 
man  whom  the  Scotch  regard  as  the  apostle  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  their  country."  ^ 

That  church  now  holds  Sunday  to  be  the  di- 
vinely authorized  memorial  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  enforced  by  the  authority  of  the  fourth 
•commandment.  But  not  thus  was  it  held  by 
Calvin  and  Knox.  A  British  writer  states  the 
condition  of  things  with  respect  to  Sunday  in 
Scotland  about  the  year  1601 : — 

"  At  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
tailors,  shoemakers,  and  bakers  in  Aberdeen  were  accus- 
tomed to  work  till  eight  or  nine  every  Sunday  morning. 
While  violation  of  the  prescribed  ritual  observances  was 
punished  by  fine,  the  exclusive  consecration  of  the  Sun- 
day which  subsequently  prevailed  was  then  unknown. 
Indeed,  there  were  regular  *  play  Sundays '  in  Scotland 
till  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. "  * 

■^>  Cox's  Sabbath  Laws,  &c.  p.  123;    M'Clintock   and  Strong's 
Cycloptdia,  vol.  v.  pn.  l-ST-Hn. 

'Quoted  in  Ilesscv  s  Hampton  liCctures,  p.  '200. 

»  Id.  p.  -Ji'l.  '      «  Wt>s(min8ter  Ktniew,  Julv,  IMs,  p   -T. 


POSITIOX    OF    THE    REFORMERS.  445 

But  the  Presbyterian  cliurch,  after  Knox's  time, 
effected  an  entire  change  with  respect  to  Sunday- 
observance.     The  same  writer  says  : — 

"  The  Presbyterian  Kirk  introduced  into  Scotland  the 
Judaical  observance  of  the  Sabbath  [Sunday],  retaining 
with  some  inconsistency  the  Sunday  festival  of  the  Cath- 
olic church,  while  rejecting  all  the  other  feasts  which  its 
authority  had  consecrated."^ 

Dr.  Hessey  shows  the  method  of  doing  this. 
He  says : — 

"  Of  course  some  difficulties  had  to  be  got  over.     The 
'  Sabbath  was  the  seventh  day,  Sunday  was  the  first  day 
of  the  week.     But  an  ingenious  theory  that  one  day  in 
seven  was  the  essence  of  the  fourth  commandment  speed- 
/  ily  reconciled  them  to  this."' 

The  circumstances  under  which  this  new  doc- 
trine was  framed,  the  name  of  its  author,  and  the 
date  of  its  publication,  will  be  given  in  their 
place.  That  the  body  of  the  reformers  should 
have  failed  to  recognize  the  authority  of  the 
fourth  commandment,  and  that  they  did  not 
turn  men  from  the  Romish  festivals  to  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord,  is  a  matter  of  regret  rather 
than  of  surprise.  The  impropriety  of  making 
them  the  standard  of  divine  truth  is  forcibly  set 
forth  in  the  following  language  : — 

"  Luther  and  Calvin  reformed  many  abuses,  especially 
in  the  discipline  of  the  church,  and  also  some  gross  cor- 
ruptions in  doctrine;  but  they  left  other  things  of  far 
greater  moment  just  as  they  found  them.  ...  It  was 
great  merit  in  them  to  go  as  far  as  they  did,  and  it  is  not 
they  but  we  who  are  to  blame  if  their  authority  induce 
us  to  go  no  further.  We  should  rather  imitate  them  in 
the  boldness  and  spirit  with  which  they  called  in  ques- 
tion and  rectified  so  many  long-established  errors  ;  and 
availing  ourselves  of  their  labors,  make  further  progress 

1  Westminster  Review,  July,  1858,  p.  37.        »  Hessey  p.  203. 


-liG  mSTORV    OF    THE    bABBATlI. 

tlian  they  were  able  to  do.  Little  reason  have  we  to  al- 
lege their  name,  authoritj',  and  example,  when  they  did  a 
great  deal  and  we  do  nothing  at  all.  In  this  we  are  not 
imitating  them,  but  those  who  opposed  and  counteracted 
them,  willing  to  keep  tilings  as  they  v;ere."^ 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

LUTHER   AND    C'AELSTADT. 

Tlie  case  of  Carlstadt  worthy  of  notice — His  difficulty  with 
Luther  respecting  the  Epistle  of  Jaraes — His  boldness  in 
standing  with  Luther  against  the  pope — What  Carlstadt 
did  dui'ing  Luther's  captivity — How  far  he  came  under 
fanaticism — Who  acted  with  Carlstadt  in  the  removal  of 
images  from  the  churches,  the  suppression  of  masses,  and 
the  abolition  of  the  law  of  celibacy — Luther  on  returning 
restored  the  mass  and  suppressed  the  simple  ordinance  of 
the  supper — Caidstadt  submitted  to  Luther's  correction — 
After  two  years,  Carlstadt  felt  constrained  to  oppose  Lu- 
ther respecting  the  supper — The  grounds  of  their  differ- 
ence respecting  the  Reformation — Luther  said  Christ's 
flesh  and  blood  were  literally  present  in  the  bread  and 
wine — Carlstadt  said  they  were  simply  represented  by 
them — The  controversy  which  followed — Carlstadt  refuted 
by  banishment — His  cruel  treatment  in  exile — He  was  not 
connected  with  the  disorderly  conduct  of  the  Anabaptists 
— Why  Carlstadt  has  been  so  harshly  judged — D'Aubignc's 
estimate  of  this  controversy— Carlstadt's  labors  in  Switzer- 
land— Luther  writes  against  him — Luther  and  Carlstadt 
reconciled — D'Aubignc's  estimate  of  Carlstadt  as  a  scholar 
and  a  Christian — Carlstadt  a  Sabbatarian — Wherein  Lu- 
ther benefited  Carlstadt — Wherein  Luther  might  have  been 
benefited  by  Carlstadt. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  at  least  one  of  the 
reformers  of  considerable  prominence — Carlstadt 
— was  a   Sabbatarian.     It  is  impossible  to  read 

1  Dr.  Priestly,  as  quoted  in  Cox's  "  Sabbath  Laws,"  p.  'JOO. 


LUTHER   AND    CAlvLSTADT.  447 

the  records  of  the  Reformation  without  the  con- 
viction that  Carlstadt  was  desirous  of  a  more 
thorough  work  of  i-eformation  than  was  Luther, 
And  that  while  Luther  was  disposed  to  tolerate 
certain  abuses  lest  the  Reformation  should  be  en- 
dangered, Carlstadt  was  at  all  hazards  for  a  com- 
plete return  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  Sabbatarian  principles  of  Carlstadt,  his 
intimate  connection  with  Luther,  his  prominence 
in  the  early  history  of  the  Reformation,  and  the 
important  bearing  of  Luther's  decision  concern- 
ing the  Sabbath  upon  the  entire  history  of  the 
Protestant  church,  render  the  former  worthy  of 
notice  in  the  history  of  the  Sabbath.  We  shall 
give  his  record  in  the  exact  words  of  the  best 
historians,  none  of  whom  were  in  sympathy  with 
his  observance  of  the  seventh  day.  The  manner 
in  which  they  state  his  faults  shows  that  they 
were  not  partial  toward  him.  Shortly  after  Lu- 
ther began  to  preach  against  the  merit  of  good 
works,  his  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  deliver- 
ing men  from  popish  thralldom  led  him  to  deny 
the  inspiration  of  some  portion  of  those  script- 
ures which  were  quoted  against  him.  Dr.  Sears 
thus  states  the  case  : — 

*'  Luther  was  so  zealous  to  maintain  tlie  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith,  that  he  was  prepared  even  to  call 
in  question  the  authority  of  some  portions  of  Scripture, 
which  seemed  to  him  not  to  be  reconcilable  with  it.  To 
the  Epistle  of  James,  especially,  his  expressions  indicate 
the  strongest  repugnance."^ 

Before  Luther's  captivity  in  the  castle  of  Wart- 
burg,  a  dispute  had  arisen  between  himself  and 
Carlstadt  on  this  very  subject.  It  is  recorded  of 
Carlstadt  that  in  the  year  1520, 

1  Life  of  Luther  by  Barnas  Sears,  D.  D.,  larger  ed,  pp.  4<»!'>,  4"1. 


418  HISTORY    OF    TIIK    SABBATH. 

"  He  published  a  treatise  *  Concerning  the  Canon  of 
Scripture/  which,  although  defaced  by  bitter  attacks  on 
Luther,  was  nevertheless  an  able  work,  setting  forth  the 
great  principle  of  Protestantism,  viz.,  the  paramount  au- 
thority of  Scripture.  He  also  at  this  time  contended  for 
the  authority  of  the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  against  Luther. 
On  the  publication  of  the  bull  of  Leo  X.  against  the  re- 
formers, Carlstadt  showed  a  real  and  honest  courage  in 
standing  firm  with  Luther.  His  work  on  '  Papal  Sanc- 
tity '  (1520)  attacks  the  infallibility  of  the  pope  on  the  ba- 
sis of  the  Bible.  "^ 

Luther,  as  is  well  known,  while  returning  from 
the  Diet  of  Worms,  was  seized  by  the  agents  of 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  hidden  from  his  ene- 
mies in  Wartburg  Castle.  We  read  of  Carlstadt 
at  this  time  as  follows  : — 

''In  1521,  during  Luther's  confinement  in  the  Wart- 
burg, Carlstadt  had  almost  sole  control  of  the  reform 
movement  at  Wittemberg,  and  was  supreme  in  the  uni- 
versity. He  attacked  monachism  and  celibacy  in  a  treat- 
ise 'Concerning  Celibacy,  Monachism,  and  Widowhood.' 
His  next  point  of  assault  was  the  Mass,  and  a  riot  of  stu- 
dents and  young  citizens  against  the  Mass  soon  followed. 
On  Christmas,  1521,  he  gave  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds 
to  the  laity,  and  in  German  ;  and  in  January,  1522,  he 
married.  His  headlong  zeal  led  him  to  do  whatever  he 
came  to  believe  right,  at  once  and  arbitrarily.  But  he 
soon  outran  Luther,  and  one  of  his  great  mistakes  was  in 
putting  the  Old  Testament  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
New.  On  Jan.  24,  1522,  Carlstadt  obtained  the  adoption 
of  a  new  church  constitution  at  Wittemberg,  which  is  of 
interest  only  as  the  first  Protestant  organization  of  the 
Reformation."" 

There  were  present  at  this  time  in  Wittem- 
berg certain  fanatical  teachers,  who,  from  the 
town  whence  they  came,  were  called  "  the  proph- 
ets of  Zwickau."  They  brought  Carlstadt  for  a 
time  so  far  under  their  influence,  that  he  con- 

»  M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  vol.  ii.  p.  123.     » Id.  lb 


LUTHER    AND    OARLSTADT.  440 

eluded  academical  degrees  to  be  sinful,  and  that, 
as  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  was  sufficient, 
there  was  no  need  of  human  learning.  He  there- 
fore advised  the  students  of  the  university  to 
return  to  their  homes.^  That  institution  was  in 
danger  of  dissolution.  Such  was  Carlstadt's 
course  in  Luther's  absence.  With  the  exception 
of  this  last  movement,  his  acts  were  in  them- 
selves right. 

The  changes  made  at  Wittemberg  during  Lu- 
ther's absence,  whether  timely  or  not,  are  gener- 
ally set  down  to  Carlstadt's  account,  and  said  to 
have  been  made  by  him  on  his  individual  re- 
sponsibility, and  in  a  fanatical  manner.  But 
this  was  quite  otherwise.  Dr.  Maclaine  thus 
states  the  case  : — 

*'The  reader  may  perhaps  imagine,  from  Dr.  Mos- 
heim's  account  of  this  matter,  that  Carlstadt  introduced 
these  changes  merely  by  his  own  authority  ;  but  this  was 
far  from  being  the  case  ;  the  suppression  of  private  mass- 
es, the  removal  of  images  out  of  the  churches,  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  law  which  imposed  celibacy  upon  the  clergy  ; 
which  are  the  changes  hinted  at  by  our  historian  as  rash 
and  perilous,  were  effected  by  Carlstadt,  in  conjunction 
with  Bugenhagius,  Melancthon,  Jonas  Amsdorf,  and 
others,  and  were  confirmed  by  the  authority  of  the  Elec- 
tor of  Saxony ;  so  that  there  is  some  reason  to  apprehend 
that  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  Luther's  displeasure 
at  these  changes,  was  their  being  introduced  in  his  ab- 
sence ;  unless  we  suppose  that  he  had  not  so  far  shaken 
off  the  fetters  of  superstition,  as  to  be  sensible  of  the 
absurdity  and  the  pernicious  consequences  of  the  use  of 
images."^ 

Carlstadt  had  given  the  cup  to  the  lait}^  of 
which  they  had  long   been   deprived  by  Rome. 

J  D'Aubigne's  Hist,  of  the  Ref.  book  ix. 

2Mosheim's  Church  Hist  book  iv.  cent.  xvi.  sect.  8,  part  ii. 
paragraph  22,  note. 


•i50  HlSTOllV    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

He  had  set  aside  the  worship  of  the  consecrated 
bread.  Dr.  Sears  rehearses  this  work  of  Carl- 
stadt,  and  then  tells  us  what  Luther  did  concern- 
ino-  it  on  his  return.     These  are  his  words : — 

o 

"He  [Carlstadt]  had  so  far  restored  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  supper  as  to  distribute  the  wine  as  well  as  the 
bread  to  the  laity.  Luther,  '  in  order  not  to  offend  weak 
consciences,'  insisted  on  distributing  the  bread  only, 
and  prevailed.  He  [Carlstadt]  rejected  the  practice  of 
elevating  and  adoring  the  host.  Luther  allowed  it,  and 
introduced  it  again."  ^ 

The  position  of  Carlstadt  was  at  this  time  very 
trj'ing.  He  had  not  received  "many  things 
taught  by  the  new  teachers  "  from  Zwickau.  But 
he  had  publicly  taught  some  of  their  fanatical 
ideas  relative  to  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  superseding  the  necessity  of  study.  But  in 
the  suppression  of  the  idolatrous  services  of  the 
Romanists,  he  was  essentially  right.  He  had  the 
pain  to  see  much  of  this  set  up  again.  Moreover 
the  elector  would  not  allow  him  either  to  preach 
or  write  upon  the  points  wherein  he  differed  from 
Luther.      D'Aubign^   states   his  course  thus : — 

''Nevertheless,  he  sacrificed  his  self-love  for  the  sake 
of  peace,  restrained  his  desire  to  vindicate  his  doctrine, 
was  reconciled,  at  least  in  appearance,  to  his  colleague 
[Luther],  and  soon  after  resumed  his  studies  in  the  uni- 
versity."^ 

As  Luther  taught  some  doctrines  which  Carl- 
stadt could  not  approve,  he  felt  at  last  that  he 
must  speak.     Dr.  Sears  thus  writes : — 

'"After  Carlstadt  had  been  compelled  to  keep  silence, 
from  1522  to  1524,  and  to  submit  to  the  superior  power 
and  authority  of  Luther,  he  could  contain   himself    no 

»  Life  of  Luther,  p.  401. 

-D'Aubigne's  Hist.  Ref.  book  ix.  p.  282.  I  use  the  excellent 
one-volume  eilition  of  Porter  and  Coatcs. 


LUTHER    A.ND    CARLSTADT.  451 

lonejer.  He,  therefore,  left  Wittemberg,  and  established 
a  press  at  Jena,  through  which  he  could,  in  a  series  of 
publications,  give  vent  to  his  convictions,  so  long  pent 
up.'- 

The  principles  at  the  foundation  of  their  ideas 
of  the  Reformation  were  tliese :  Carlstadt  insisted 
on  rejecting  everything  in  the  Catholic  church 
not  authorized  in  the  Bible ;  Luther  was  deter- 
mined to  retain  everything  not  expressly  forbid- 
den. Dr.  Sears  thus  states  their  primary  differ- 
ences : — 

''Carlstadt  maintained,  that  'we  should  not,  in  things 
pertaining  to  God,  regard  what  the  multitude  say  or 
think,  but  look  simply  to  the  word  of  God.  Others,'  he 
adds,  '  say  that,  on  account  of  the  weak,  we  should  not 
hasten  to  keep  the  commands  of  God  ;  but  wait  till  they 
become  wise  and  strong.'  In  regard  to  the  ceremonies 
introduced  into  the  church,  he  judged  as  the  Swiss  re- 
formers did,  that  all  were  to  be  rejected  which  had  not  a 
warrant  in  the  Bible.  '  It  is  sufficiently  against  the  Script- 
ures if  you  can  find  no  ground  for  it  in  them.' 

"Luther  asserted,  on  the  contrary,  '  Whatever  is  not 
against  the  Scriptures  is  for  the  Scriptures,  and  the  Script- 
ures for  it.  Though  Christ  hath  not  commanded  ador- 
ing of  the  host,  so  neither  hath  he  forbidden  it.'  '  Not 
so,'  said  Carlstadt,  '  we  are  bound  to  the  Bible,  and  no 
one  may  decide  after  the  thoughts  of  his  own  heart.'  " " 

It  is  of  interest  to  know  what  was  the  subject 
which  caused  the  controversy  between  them,  and 
what  was  the  position  of  each.  Dr.  Maclaine 
thus  states  the  occasion  of  the  conflict  which 
now  arose : — 

"  This  difference  of  opinion  between  Carlstadt  and  Lu- 
ther concerning  the  eucharist,  was  the  true  cause  of  the 
violent  rupture  between  those  two  eminent  men,  and  it 
tended  very  little  to  the  honor  of  the  latter ;  for,  however 
the  explication,  which  the  former  gave  of  the  words  of  the 
institution  of  the  Lord's  supper,  may  appear  forced,  yet 

I  Life  of  Luther,  pp.  402,  40;).  2  id.  pp.  401,  402. 


4:r)2  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

the  sentiments  he  entertained  of  that  ordinance  as  a  com- 
memoration of  Christ's  death,  and  not  as  a  celebration  of 
his  bodily  presence,  in  consequence  of  a  consubstantiation 
with  the  bread  and  wine,  are  infinitely  more  rational 
than  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  which  is  loaded  with  some 
of  the  most  palpable  absurdities  of  transubstantiation  ; 
and  if  it  be  supposed  that  Carlstadt  strained  the  rule  of 
interpretation  too  far,  when  he  alleged,  that  Christ  pro- 
nounced the  pronoun  this  (in  the  words  This  is  my  body) 
pointing  to  his  body,  and  not  to  the  bread,  what  shall  we 
think  of  Luther's  explaining  the  nonsensical  doctrine  of 
consubstantiation  by  the  similitude  of  a  red-hot  iron,  in 
which  two  elements  are  united,  as  the  body  of  Christ  is 
with  the  bread  of  the  eucharist  ? "  ^ 

Dr.  Sears  also  states  the  occasion  of  this  con- 
flict in  1524:— 

"  The  most  important  difierence  between  him  and  Lu- 
ther, and  that  which  most  embittered  the  latter  against 
him,  related  to  the  Lord's  supper.  He  opposed  not  only 
transubstantiation,  but  consubstantiation,  the  real  pres- 
ence, and  the  elevation  and  adoration  of  the  host.  Luther 
rejected  the  first,  asserted  the  second  and  third,  and  al- 
lowed the  other  two.  In  regard  to  the  real  presence,  he 
says  :  '  In  the  sacrament  is  the  real  body  of  Christ  and 
the  real  blood  of  Christ,  so  that  even  the  unworthy  and 
ungodly  partake  of  it  ;  and  "partake  of  it  corporally" 
too,  and  not  spiritually  as  Carlstadt  will  have  it.'  "^ 

That  Luther  was  the  one  chiefly  in  error  in 
this  controversy  will  be  acknowledged  by  nearly 
every  one  at  the  present  day.  D'Aubign^  cannot 
refrain  from  censuring  him  : — 

"  When  once  the  question  of  the  supper  was  raised, 
Luther  threw  away  the  proper  element  of  the  Reformation, 
and  took  his  stand  for  himself  and  his  church  in  an  exclu- 
sive Lutheranism"  ^ 


» Moshcim's  Hist,  of  the  Church,  book  iv.  cent.  xvi.   sect.  3, 
part  ii,  paragraph  22,  note. 
2  Life  of  Luther,  p.  402. 
"  IVAubigne's  Hist,  of  Ref.  book  x.  p.  012. 


LUTHER    AND    CARLSTADT.  453 

The  controversy  is  thus  characterized  by  Dr. 
Sears : — 

"  A  furious  controversy  ensued.  Both  parties  exceed- 
ed the  bounds  of  Christian  propriety  and  moderation. 
Carlstadt  was  now  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Anabaptist  tu- 
mults, excited  by  Muntzer.  He  sympathized  with  them 
in  some  things,  but  disapproved  of  their  disorders.  Lu- 
ther made  the  most  of  this." ^ 

It  is  evident  that  in  this  contest  Luther  did 
not  gain  any  decisive  advantage,  even  in  the  es- 
timation of  his  friends.  The  Elector  of  Saxony 
interfered  and  banished  Carlstadt !  D'Aubigne 
thus  states  the  case  : — 

^'  He  issued  orders  to  deprive  Carlstadt  of  his  appoint- 
ments, and  banished  him,  not  only  from  Orlamund,  but 
from  the  States  of  the  electorate."" 

'  •'  Luther  had  nothing  to  do  with  this  sternness  on  the 
part  of  the  prince :  it  was  foreign  to  his  disposition, — and 
this  he  afterward  proved."  ^ 

Carlstadt,  for  maintaining  the  doctrine  now  held 
by  almost  all  Protestants,  concerning  the  supper, 
and  for  denying  Luther's  doctrine  that  Christ  is 
personally  present  in  the  bread,  was  rendered  a 
homeless  wanderer  for  years.  His  banishment 
was  in  1524.     What  followed  is  thus  described: — 

* '  From  this  date  until  1534  he  wandered  through 
Germany,  pursued  by  the  persecuting  opinions  of  both 
Lutherans  and  Papists,  and  at  times  reduced  to  great 
straits  by  indigence  and  unpopularity.  But,  although  he 
always  found  sympathy  and  hospitality  among  the  Ana- 
baptists, yet  he  is  evidently  clear  of  the  charge  of  com- 
plicity with  Muntzer's  rebellion.  Yet  he  was  forbidden 
to  write,  his  life  was  sometimes  in  danger,  and  he  exhib- 
its the  melancholy  spectacle  of  a  man  great  and  right  in 
many  respects,  but  whose  rashness,  ambition,  and  in- 
sincere zeal,  together  with  many  fanatical  opinions,  had 

'  Life  of  Luther,  n.  40;3. 

2])'Anbigne's  Hisf.  "Rtf.  book  x.  pp.  "1-i,  315.  "Id.  Th. 


4')-!-  H]^5TORV    OF    THE    SAHIJATII. 

put  liiia  under  the  well-founded  but  immoderate  censure 
of  both  friends  and  foes."^ 

Sucli  language  seems  quite  unwaiTanted  by  the 
facts.  There  was  no  justice  in  this  persecution 
of  Carlstadt.  He  did  for  a  brief  time  hold  some 
fanatical  ideas,  but  these  he  did  not  afterward 
maintain.  The  same  writer  speaks  further  in  the 
same  strain : — 

"  It  cannot  be  denied  that  in  many  respects  he  was  ap- 
parently in  advance  of  Luther,  but  his  error  lay  in  his 
haste  to  subvert  and  abolish  the  external  forms  and 
pomps  before  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  doubtless  his 
own,  were  prepared  by  an  internal  change.  Biographies 
of  him  are  numerous,  and  the  Reformation  no  doubt  owes 
him  much  of  good  for  which  he  has  not  the  credit,  as  it 
was  overshadowed  by  the  mischief  he  produced."  - 

Important  truth  relative  to  the  services  of 
Carlstadt  is  here  stated,  but  it  is  connected  with 
intimations  of  evil  which  have  no  sufficient  foun- 
dation in  fact.  Dr.  Sears  speaks  thus  of  the  bit- 
ter lano^uage  concerninor  him  : — 

"For  three  centuries,  Carlstadt's  moral  character  has 
been  treated  somewhat  as  Luther's  would  have  been,  if 
only  Catholic  testimony  had  been  heard.  The  party  in- 
terested has  been  both  witness  and  judge.  What  if  we 
were  to  judge  of  Zwingle's  Cliristian  character  by  Lu- 
ther's representations?  The  tnith  is,  Carlstadt  hardly 
showed  a  worse  spirit,  or  employed  more  abusive  terms 
toward  Luther,  than  Luther  did  toward  him.  Carlstadt 
knew  that  in  many  things  the  truth  was  on  his  side  ;  and 
yet,  in  these,  no  less  than  in  others,  he  was  crushed  by 
the  civil  power,  which  was  on  the  side  of  Luther."" 

D'Aubign(3  speaks  thus  of  the  contest  between 
these  two  men : — 

"Each  turns  against  the  error  which,  to  his  mind, 
seems  most  noxious,  and  in  assailing  it,  goes — it  may  be 

>  M'Clintock  and  Strong's  Cvclopedia,  vol.  ii.  p.  123. 

*  Id.  lb.  '  3  Life  of  Luther,  p.  400. 


H'THER    AND    CARLSTADT.  455 

— beyond  the  truth.  But  this  being  admitted,  it  is  still 
true  that  both  are  right  in  the  x>revailing  turn  of  theii* 
thoughts,  and  though  ranking  in  different  hosts,  the  two 
great  teachers  are  nevertheless  found  under  the  same 
standard — that  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  alone  is  truth  in 
the  full  import  of  that  word."^ 

D'Aubigne  says  of  them  after  Carlstadt  had 
been  banished : — 

"It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  a  pain  at  contemplating 
these  two  men,  once  friends,  and  both  worthy  of  our  es- 
teem, thus  angrily  opposed."" 

Sometime  after  Carlstadt's  banishment  from 
Saxony  he  visited  Switzerland.  D'Aubigne  speaks 
of  the  ]'esult  of  his  labors  in  that  country,  and 
what  Luther  did  toward  him  : — 

"His  instructions  soon  attracted  an  attention  nearly 
equal  to  that  which  had  been  excited  by  the  earliest  theses 
put  forth  by  Luther,  Switzerland  seemed  almost  gained 
over  to  his  doctrine.  Bucer  and  Capito  also  appeared  to 
adopt  his  views. 

' '  Then  it  was  that  Luther's  indignation  rose  to  its 
hight  ;  and  he  put  forth  one  of  the  most  powerful  but  al- 
so most  OUTRAGEOUS  of  liis  controversial  writings, — his 
book  '  Against  the  Celestial  Prophets.^  "  ^ 

Dr.  Sears  also  mentions  the  labors  of  Carlstadt 
in  Switzerland,  and  speaks  of  Luther's  uncandid 
book  : — 

' '  The  work  which  he  Avrote  against  him,  he  entitled 
'  The  book  against  the  Celestial  Prophets.'  This  was  un- 
candid ;  for  the  controversy  related  chiefly  to  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  supper.  In  the  south  of  Germany  and  in 
Switzerland,  Carlstadt  found  more  adherents  than  Luther. 
Banished  as  an  Anabaptist,  he  was  received  as  a  Zwing- 
lian."* 

Dr.  Maclaine  tells  something  which  followed, 

1  D'Aubigne's  Hist.  Ref.  book  x.  p.  312. 

2  Id.  book  X.  p.  315. 

3  Hist.  Ref.  book  x.  p.  315.  ■♦  Life  of  Luther,  p.  403. 


456  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

which  is  worthy  of  the  better  nature  of  these  two 
illustrious  men : — 

"Carlstadt,  after  his  banishment  from  Saxony,  composed 
a  treatise  against  enthusiasm  in  general,  and  against  the 
extravagant  tenets  and  the  violent  proceedings  of  the  Ana- 
baptists in  particular.  This  treatise  was  even  addressed 
to  Luther,  who  was  so  affected  by  it,  that,  repenting  of 
his  unworthy  treatment  of  Carlstadt,  he  pleaded  his  cause, 
and  obtained  from  the  elector  a  permission  for  him  to  re- 
turn into  Saxony."^ 

' '  After  this  reconciliation  with  Luther,  he  composed  a 
treatise  on  the  eucharist,  which  breathes  the  most  amiable 
spirit  of  moderation  and  humility  ;  and  having  perused 
the  writings  of  Zwingle,  where  he  saw  his  own  sentiments 
on  that  subject  maintained  with  the-  greatest  perspicuity 
and  force  of  evidence,  he  repaired  the  second  time  to  Zu- 
rich, and  thence  to  Basil,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the 
offices  of  pastor  and  professor  of  divinity,  and  where,  aft- 
er having  lived  in  the  exemplary  and  constant  practice  of 
every  Christian  virtue,  he  died,  amidst  the  warmest  effu- 
sions of  piety  and  resignation,  on  the  25th  of  December, 
1541."  = 

Of  Carlstadt's  scholarship,  and  of  his  conscien- 
tiousness, D'Aubigne  speaks  thus  : — 

''  'He  was  well  acquainted,'  says  Dr.  Scheur,  'with  Lat- 
in, Greek,  and  Hebrew  ; '  and  Luther  acknowledged  him  to 
be  his  superior  in  learning.  Endowed  with  great  powers 
of  mind,  he  sacrificed  to  his  convictions  fame,  station, 
country,  and  even  his  bread.  "^ 

His  Sabbatarian  character  is  attested  by  Dr. 
White,  lord  bishop  of  Ely  :— 

* '  The  same  [the  observance  of  the  seventh  day]  like- 
wise being  revived  in  Luther's  time  by  Carolastadius, 
Stemebergius,  and  by  some  sectaries  among  the  Anabap- 

1  Mosheim's  Church  Hist,  book  iv.  cent.  1(5,  sect.  3,  part  ii.  para- 
j^ranh  2-2,  note. 

^  Id.  lb.  Very  nearly  the  same  statement  is  made  by  l)u  Pin, 
tome  i:i,  chap.  li.  section  2<">,  p.  l"'-'"!,  a.  d.  IT"". 

•'Hist.  Rof.  book  x.  p.  :>1.^. 


LUfUER   AND    CARLSTADT.  457 

iists  hath  both  then  and  ever  since  been  censured  as  Jew- 
ish and  heretical."  ^ 

Dr.  Sears  alludes  to  Carlstadt's  observance  of 
the  seventh  day,  but  as  is  quite  usual  with  first- 
day  historians  in  such  cases,  does  it  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  leave  the  fact  sufficiently  obscure 
to  be  passed  over  without  notice  by  the  general 
reader.     He  writes  thus : — 

' '  Carlstadt  differed  essentially  from  Luther  in  regard 
to  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  Old  Testament.  With  him, 
the  law  of  Moses  was  still  binding.  Luther,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  a  strong  aversion  to  what  he  calls  a  legal  and 
Judaizing  religion.  Carlstadt  held  to  the  divine  authori- 
ty of  the  Sabbath  from  the  Old  Testament  ;  Luther  be- 
lieved Christians  were  free  to  observe  any  day  as  a  Sab- 
bath, provided  they  be  uniform  in  observing  it."  - 

We  have,  however,  Luther's  own  statement  re- 
specting Carlstadt's  views  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is 
from  his  book  "Against  the  Celestial  Prophets:" — 

"  Indeed,  if  Carlstadt  were  to  write  further  about  the 
Sabbath,  Sunday  would  have  to  give  way,  and  the  Sab- 
bath— that  is  to  say,  Saturday — must  be  kept  holy  ;  he 
would  truly  make  us  Jews  in  all  things,  and  we  should 
come  to  be  circumcised  :  for  that  is  true,  and  cannot  be 
denied,  that  he  who  deems  it  necessary  to  keep  one  law 
of  Moses,  and  keeps  it  as  the  law  of  Moses,  must  deem  all 
necessary,  and  keep  them  all."^ 

The  various  historians  who  treat  of  the  diffi- 
culty between  Luther  and  Carlstadt,  speak  freety 
of  the  motives  of  each.  But  of  such  matters  it  is 
best  to  speak  little ;  the  day  of  Judgment  will 
show  the  hearts  of  men,  and  v^^e  must  wait  till 
then.     We  may,  however,  freely  speak  of  their 

» Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day,  p.  8. 

2  Life  of  Luther,  p.  402. 

3  Quoted  in  the  Life  of  Martin  Luther  in  Pictures,  p.  M7,  Phila- 
delphia, J.  W.  Moore,  105  Chestnut  street. 

Sal.Lath  nistury.  :iO 


458  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

acts,  and  may  with  propriety  name  tiic  things 
wherein  each  would  have  benefited  the  other. 
Carlstadt's  errors  at  Wittemberg  were  not  because 
he  rejected  Luther's  help,  but  because  he  was  de- 
prived of  it  by  Luther's  captivity.  Luther's  er- 
ror in  those  things  wherein  Carls tadt  was  right 
were  because  he  saw  it  best  to  reject  Carlstadt's 
doctrine. 

1.  Carlstadt's  error  in  the  removal  of  the  im- 
ages, the  suppression  of  masses,  the  abolition  of 
monastic  vows,  or  vows  of  celibacy,  and  in  giving 
the  wine  as  well  as  the  bread  in  the  supper,  and 
in  performing  the  service  in  German  instead  of 
Latin,  if  it  was  an  error,  was  one  of  time  rather 
than  of  doctrine.  Had  Luther  been  with  him, 
probably  all  would  have  been  deferred  for  some 
months  or  perhaps  some  years. 

2.  Carlstadt  would  probably  have  been  saved 
by  Luther's  presence  from  coming  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Zwickau  prophets.  As  it  was,  he 
did  for  a  brief  season  accept,  not  their  teaching  in 
general,  but  their  doctrine  that  the  inspiration 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  believers  renders  human 
learning  vain  and  worthless.  But  in  both  these 
things  Carlstadt  submitted  to  Luther's  correction. 
Had  Luther  regarded  Carlstadt,  he  would  have 
been  benefited  in  the  following  particulars : — 

L  In  his  zeal  for  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith,  he  would  have  been  saved  from  the  de- 
nial of  the  inspiration  of  the  epistle  of  James, 
and  would  not  have  called  it  a  "  strawy  or  chaffy 
epistle."  ^ 

2.  Instead  of  exchanoring  transubstantiation, 
which  is  the  Romish  doctrine  that  the  bread  and 

»  M'Clintock  and  Strong,  vol.  ii.  p.  123  ;   Dr.  A.  Clarke's  Com- 
mentnry,  jircfnce  to  .Tames. 


SABBATH    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  459 

wine  of  the  supper  become  Christ's  literal  flesh 
and  blood,  for  consubstantiation,  the  doctrine 
which  he  fastened  upon  the  Lutheran  church 
that  Christ's  flesh  and  blood  are  actually  present 
ill  the  bread  and  wine,  he  would  have  given  to 
that  church  the  doctrine  that  the  bread  and  wine 
simply  represent  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
and  are  used  in  commemoration  of  his  sacrifice 
for  our  sins. 

3.  Instead  of  holding  fast  every  thing  in  the 
Romish  church  not  expressly  forbidden  in  the 
Bible,  he  would  have  laid  all  aside  which  had 
not  the  actual  sanction  of  that  holy  book. 

4.  Instead  of  the  Catholic  festival  of  Sunday, 
he  would  have  observed  and  transmitted  to  the 
Protestant  church  the  ancient  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord. 

Carlstadt  needed  Luther's  help,  and  he  accepted 
it.  Did  not  Luther  also  need  that  of  Carl- 
stadt ?  Is  it  not  time  that  Carlstadt  should  be 
vindicated  from  the  great  obloquy  thrown  upon 
him  by  the  prevailing  party  ?  And  would  not 
this  have  been  done  long  since  had  not  Carlstadt 
been  a  decided  Sabbatarian  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


SABBATH-KEEPERS   IN   THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY. 

The  judgment  of  the  martyr  Frith — The  Reformation  brings 
Sabbath-keepers  to  light  in  various  countries — In  Tran- 
sylvania— In  Bohemia — In  Russia — In  Germany — In  Hol- 
land— In  France — In  England. 

John  Frith,  an  English  reformer  of  considera- 
ble note  and  a  martyr,  was  converted  by  the  la- 


460  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABEATH. 

bors  of  Tyndale  about  1525,  and  assisted  him  in 
the  translation  of  the  Bible.  He  was  burned  at 
Smithfield,  July  4,  1533.  He  is  spoken  of  in  the 
highest  terms  by  the  historians  of  the  English 
Reformation.^  His  views  respecting  the  Sabbath 
and  first-day  are  thus  stated  by  himself: — 

"•  The  Jews  have  the  word  of  God  for  their  Saturday, 
sitli  [since]  it  is  the  seventh  day,  and  they  were  com- 
manded to  keep  the  seventh  day  solemn.  And  we  have 
not  the  word  of  God  for  us,  but  rather  against  us  ;  for  we 
keep  not  the  seventh  day,  as  the  Jews  do,  but  the  first, 
which  is  not  commanded  by  God's  law."^ 

When  the  Reformation  had  lifted  the  vail  of 
darkness  that  covered  the  nations  of  Europe, 
Sabbath-keepers  were  found  in  Transylvania, 
Bohemia,  Russia,  Germany,  Holland,  France,  and 
England.  It  was  not  the  Reformation  which 
gave  existence  to  these  Sabbatarians,  for  the 
leaders  of  the  Reformation,  as  a  body,  were  not 
friendly  to  such  views.  On  the  contrary,  these 
observers  of  the  Sabbath  appear  to  be  remnants 
of  the  ancient  Sabbath-keeping  churches  that  had 
witnessed  for  the  truth  durinor  the  Dark  Ages. 

Transylvania,  a  country  which  now  constitutes 
one  of  the  ea^stern  divisions  of  the  Austrian  Em- 
pire, was,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  an  independ- 
ent principality.  About  the  middle  of  that 
century,  the  country  was  under  the  rule  of  Sig- 
ismund.  The  historian  of  the  Baptists,  Robinson, 
gives  the  following  interesting  record  of  events 
in  that  age  and  country  : — 

' '  The  prince   received   his   first  religious  impressions 

iM'Clintock  and  Strong,  vol.  iii.  p.  079;  D'Aubigne's  Hist. 
Ref.  book  xviii.  np.  072,  080,  700,  7'i7  ;  book  xx.  pp.  705,  700  ; 
Fox's  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  viii.  pp.  r)24-ri27. 

a  Frith's  works,  p.  CI.*,  quoted  in  llessey,  p.  I'JS. 


SABBATH    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  461 

under  his  chaplain,  Alexius,  who  was  a  Lutheran.  On 
his  removal  he  chose  Francis  Davidis  to  succeed  him,  and 
by  him  was  further  informed  of  the  principles  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. Davidis  was  a  native  of  that  extremely  pop- 
ulous and  well-fortified  town  which  is  called  Coloswar  by 
the  natives,  Clausenberg  by  the  Germans,  and  by  others, 
Claudiopolis.  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  address,  and 
piety,  and  reasoned  in  this  part  of  his  life  more  justly  on 
the  principles  of  the  Reformation  than  many  of  his  co- 
temi)oraries.  In  1563  his  highness  invited  several  learned 
foreigners  to  come  into  Transylvania  for  the  purpose  of 
helping  forward  the  Reformation.^ 

'*  Several  other  foreigners,  who  had  been  persecuted 
elsewhere,  sought  refuge  in  this  country,  where  persecu- 
tion for  religion  was  unknown.  These  refugees  were 
Unitarian  Baptists,  and  through  their  indefatigable  in- 
dustry and  address,  the  prince,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
senate,  a  great  number  of  ministers,  and  a  multitude 
of  the  people  went  heartily  into  their  plan  of  Reforma- 
tion.^ 

*'In  the  end  the  Baptists  became  by  far  the  most  nu- 
merous party,  and  were  put  in  possession  of  a  printing 
office,  and  an  academy,  and  the  cathedral  was  given  to 
them  for  a  place  of  worship.  They  obtained  these  without 
any  violence,  and  while  they  formed  their  own  churcheB 
according  to  the  convictions  of  their  members,  they  per- 
secuted nobody,  but  allowed  the  same  liberty  to  others, 
and  great  numbers  of  Catholics,  Lutherans  and  Calvin- 
ists  resided  in  perfect  freedom."" 

Mr.  Robinson  further  informs  us  that  Davidis 
took  extreme  Unitarian  ground  with  respect  to 
the  worship  of  Christ,  which  seems  to  have  been 
the  only  serious  error  that  can  be  laid  to  his 
charge.  Davidis  was  a  Unitarian  Baptist  min- 
ister, intrusted  by  his  brethren  with  the  super- 
intendency  of  the  churches  in  Transylvania. 
His  influence  in  that  country  at  one  period  was 
very  great.  His  views  of  the  Sabbath  are  thus 
stated : — 

1  Eccl.  Researches,  chap.  xvi.  p.  G30.       ^id^  15.        3  id.  p.  nsi . 


462  HISTOllY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

"  He  supposed  the  Jewish  Sabbath  not  abrogated,  and 
he  therefore  kept  holy  the  seventh  day.  He  believed 
also  the  doctrine  of  the  millennium,  and  like  an  honest 
man,  what  he  believed  he  taught.  He  was  considered  by 
the  Transylvanian  churches  as  an  apostle,  and  had  grown 
gray  in  their  service  ;  but  the  Catholics,  the  Lutherans, 
and  the  Calvinists,  thought  him  a  Turk,  a  blasphemer, 
and  an  atheist,  and  his  Polish  Baptist  brethren  said  he 
was  half  a  Jew.  Had  he  been  a  whole  Jew  he  ought  not 
to  have  been  imprisoned  for  his  speculations.  ^ 

"  By  what  means  the  Supreme  Searcher  of  hearts  only 
knows,  but  by  some  methods  till  then  unknown  in  Tran- 
sylvania, the  old  man  was  arrested,  and  by  the  senate 
condemned  to  die.  He  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle,  and 
providence  by  putting  a  period  to  his  life  there,  saved 
his  persecutors  from  the  disgrace  of  a  public  execution."" 

Mr.  Robinson  says  that  "many  have  been 
blamed  "  for  the  death  of  Davidis,  "  but  perhaps 
the  secret  springs  of  this  event  may  never  be 
known  till  the  Judge  of  the  world  maketh  inqui- 
sition for  blood."  There  were  many  Sabbata- 
rians in  Transylvania  at  this  time,  for  Mr.  Rob- 
inson enumerates  many  persons  of  distinction 
who  were  of  the  same  views  with  Davidis.  The 
ambassador  Bequessius,  general  of  the  arm}^; 
the  princess,  sister  of  prince  John;  the  privy 
counselor,  Chaquius,  and  the  two  Quendi ;  general 
Andrassi,  and  many  others  of  high  rank ;  Somer, 
the  rector  of  the  academy  at  Claudiopolis ;  Mat- 
thias Glirius,  Adam  Neusner,  and  Christian 
Francken,  a  professor  in  the  academy  at  Claudi- 
opolis. 

"  These,"  says  Robinson,  "were  all  of  the  same  senti- 
ments as  Davidis,  as  were  many  more  of  different  ranks, 
who  after  his  death  in  prison,  defended  his  opinion  against 
Socinus.  Pala;o]ogus  was  of  the  same  mind  ;  he  had  fled 
into  Moravia,  but  was  caught  by  the  emperor,  at  the  re- 
quest of  Pope  Gregory  XIV. ,  and  carried  to  Rome,  where 

'Keel.  Researches,  eliap.  xvi   p.  ogc.  ^m,  pp.  coo,  637. 


SACBATir    IX    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  403 

lie  was  burnt  for  a  heretick.  He  was  an  old  man,  and 
was  terrified  at  first  into  a  recantation,  but  he  recollected 
himself  and  submitted  to  his  fate  like  a  Christian.^ 

These  persons  must  have  been  Sabbatarians. 
Moshiem,  after  saying  that  Davidis  "  left  behind 
him  disciples  and  friends,  who  strenuously  main- 
tained his  sentiments,"  adds : — 

^'  The  most  eminent  of  these  were  Jacob  Palteologus,  of 
the  isle  of  Ohio,  who  was  burned  at  Rome  in  1585  ;  Chris- 
tian Francken,  who  had  disputed  in  person  with  Socinus  ; 
and  John  Somer,  who  was  master  of  the  academy  of 
Clausenberg.  This  little  sect  is  branded  by  the  Socinian 
writers,  with  the  ignominious  appellation  of  Semi-Judai- 

ZERS."^ 

We  have  a  further  record  of  Sabbatarians  in 
Transylvania  to  tiie  eftect  that  in  the  time  of 
Davidis, 

"  John  Gerendi  [was]  head  of  the  Sabbatarians,  a  peo- 
ple who  did  not  keep  Sunday  but  Saturday,  and  whose 
discix)les  took  the  name  of  Genoldists.  "^ 

Sabbath -keepers,  also,  were  found  in  Bohemia, 
a  country  of  Central  Europe,  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation.  We  are  dependent  upon  those 
who  despised  their  faith  and  practice  for  a 
knowledge  of  their  existence.  Erasmus  speaks 
of  them  as  follows  : — 

"  Now  we  hear  that  among  the  Bohemians  a  new  kind 
of  Jews  has  arisen  called  Sabbata,rians,  who  observe  the 
Sabbath  with  so  much  superstition,  that  if  on  that  day 
anything  falls  into  their  eyes  they  wilLnot  remoA^e  it ;  as 
if  the  Lord's  day  would  not  suffice  for  them  instead  of 
the  Sabbath,  which  to  the  apostles  also  was  sacred  ;  or  as 
if  Christ  had  not  sufficiently  expressed  how  much  should 
be  allowed  upon  the  Sabbath. "  * 

1  Eccl.  Researches,  chap.  xvi.  p.  640. 

2Mosheim's  Hist.  Church,  book  iv.  cent.  16,  sect.  3,  part  ii. 
chap.  iv.  par.  23.  3  Lamy's  History  of  Socmianism   p.  60. 

•*  "  Xunc  audimus  apud  Bohenios  cxoi-iri  novum  Judgeorum  gc- 


461  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

We  need  say  nothing  relative  to  the  alleged  su- 
perstition of  these  Sabbath-keepers.  The  state- 
ment sufficiently  refutes  itself,  and  indicates  the 
bitter  prejudice  of  those  who  speak  of  them  thus. 
But  that  Sabbath-keepers  were  found  at  this 
time  in  Bohemia  admits  of  no  doubt.  They 
were  of  some  importance,  and  they  must  also 
have  publislied  their  views  to  the  world ;  for 
Cox  tells  us  that, 

"  Hospinian  of  Zurich,  in  his  treatise  '  Concerning  the 
.Feasts  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles,'  chapter  iii.  (Tig- 
uri,  1592)  replies  to  the  arguments  of  these  Sabbatari- 
ans,"^ 

The  existence  of  this  body  of  Sabbatarians  in 
Bohemia  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  is  strong 
presumptive  proof  that  the  Waldenses  of  Bo- 
hemia, noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  though 
claimed  as  observers  of  Sunday,  were  actually 
observers  of  the  ancient  Sabbath. 

In  Russia,  the  observers  of  the  seventh  day  are 
numerous  at  the  present  time.  Their  existence 
can  be  traced  back  nearly  to  the  year  1400. 
They  are,  therefore,  at  least  one  hundred  years 
older  than  the  work  of  Luther.  The  first  writer 
that  I  quote  speaks  of  them  as  "  having  left  the 
Christian  faith."  But  even  in  our  time,  it  is  very 
common  for  people  to  speak  of  those  who  turn 
from  the  first  day  to  the  seventh  that  they  have 
renounced  Christ  for  Moses.^     He  also  speaks  of 

nus,  Sabbatarios  appellant,  qui  tanta  superstitione  servant  Sab- 
batum,  ut  si  c^uid  eo  die  inciderit  in  ociilnm,  nolint  eximere  ; 
quasi  non  sulhciat  eis  pro  Sabbato  Dies  Dominicus,  qui  Apos- 
tolis  etiain  erat  sacer,  aut  quasi  Christns  non  satis  expresserit 
quantum  tribucn  dum  sit  Sabbato."  l)e  Arnabili  Ecclesiai  Con- 
cordia ;  Opera,  tome  5,  p.  50tj,  Luijd.  liat.  1704  ;  quoted  in  Cox's 
Sabbath  liiterature.  vol.  ii.  pp.  201,  202  ;  Hessey,  p.  o74. 

'  ('ox,  vol.  ii.  p.  202. 

"  Sucli  statements  respecting  the  observers  of  the  seventh  day 


SABBATH    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTUKY.  4(^5 

them  as  holding  to  circumcision.  Even  Carlstadt 
was  charged  with  this  by  Luther  as  a  necessary 
deduction  from  the  fact  that  he  observed  the  day 
enjoined  in  the  fourth  commandment.  Such  be- 
ins^  a  common  method  of  character! zins^  Sabbath- 
keepers  in  our  time,  and  such  also  having  been 
the  case  in  past  ages — for  when  men  lack  argu- 
ment, they  use  opprobrious  terms — the  historian, 
who  makes  up  his  record  of  these  people  from 
the  statements  of  the  popular  party,  will  cer- 
tainly represent  them  as  rejecting  Christ  and  the 
gospel,  and  accepting  instead  Moses  and  tlie  cer- 
emonial law.  I  give  the  statements  of  the  his- 
torians as  they  are,  and  the  reader  must  judge. 
Robert  Pinkerton  gives  the  followincj  account  of 
them : — 

' '  Seleznevtschini.  This  sect  are,  in  modern  time,  pre- 
cisely what  the  Strigolniks  originally  were.  They  are 
Jews  in  principle  ;  maintain  the  divine  obligation  of  cir- 
cumcision ;  observe  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  the  ceremo- 
nial law.  There  are  many  of  them  about  Tula,  on  the 
river  Kuma,  and  in  other  provinces,  and  they  are  very 
numerous  in  Poland  and  Turkey,  where,  having  left  the 
Christian  faith,  they  have  joined  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
according  to  the  flesh,  in  rejecting  the  Messiah  and  the 
gospel."^ 

The  ancient  Russian  name  of  this  people  was 
Strigolniks.  Dr.  Murdock  gives  the  following 
account  of  them  : — 

"  It  is  common  to  date  the  origin  of  sectarians  in  the 
Russian  church,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 

are  very  common.  Even  those  who  first  commenced  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  in  Newport  were  said  to  "have  left  Christ  and  gone  to 
Moses  in  the  observation  of  days,  and  times,  and  seasons,  and 
such  like." — Seventh-day  Baptist  Memorial,  vol.  i.  p.  32.  The 
pastor  of  the  first-day  Baptist  church  of  Newport  said  to  them: 
"  I  do  judge  you  have  and'still  do  deny  Christ." — Id.  p.  37. 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  Greek  Church  in  Russia,  Appendix, 
p.  273,  New  York,  1815. 


466  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

tiny,  in  the  time  of  the  patriarch  Nikon.  But  according 
to  the  Russian  annals,  there  existed  schismatics  in  the 
Russian  church  two  hundred  years  before  the  days  of 
Nikon  ;  and  the  disturbances  which  took  place  in  his 
time,  only  proved  the  means  of  augmenting  their  num- 
bers, and  of  bringing  them  forward  into  public  view. 
The  earliest  of  these  schismatics  first  appeared  in  Novo- 
gorod,  early  in  the  fifteenth  century,  under  the  name  of 
iStrigolniks. 

* '  A  Jew  named  Horie  preached  a  mixture  of  Judaism 
and  Christianity  ;  and  proselyted  two  priests,  Denis  and 
Alexie,  who  gained  a  vast  number  of  followers.  This 
sect  was  so  numerous,  that  a  national  council  was  called, 
towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  to  oppose  it. 
Soon  afterwards,  one  Karp,  an  excommunicated  deacon, 
joined  th.Q  Strigolniks ;  and  accused  the  higher  clergy  of 
selling  the  office  of  priesthood,  and  of  so  far  corrupting 
the  church,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  withdraw^l  from  it. 
He  was  a  very  successful  propagator  of  this  sect."^ 

It  is  very  customary  with  historians  to  speak 
of  Sabbath-keeping  Christians  in  one  of  the  fol- 
lowing ways :  1.  To  name  their  observance  of  the 
seventh  day  distinctly,  but  to  represent  them  as 
turning  from  Christ  to  Moses  and  the  ceremonial 
law ;  or,  2.  To  speak  of  their  Sabbatarian  princi- 
ples in  so  vague  a  manner  that  the  reader  will 
not  be  likely  to  suspect  them  of  being  Sabbatli- 
keepers.  Pinkerton  speaks  of  these  Eussian 
Sabbatli-keepers  after  the  first  of  these  methods ; 
Murdock,  after  the  second.  It  is  plain  that  Mur- 
dock  did  not  regard  these  people  as  rejecting 
Christ,  and  it  is  certain  from  Pinkerton  that  the 
two  writers  are  speaking  of  the  same  people. 

What  was  the  origin  of  these  Russian  Sabbath- 
keepers  ?  Certainly  it  was  not  from  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  sixteenth  century ;  for  they  were 
in  existence  at  least  one  century  before  that  event. 

'  Murdock's  Moshcim,  book  iv.  cent.  xvii.  sect.  2,  part  i.  chap, 
ii.  note  12. 


SABBATH    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  467 

"VVe  have  seen  'that  the  Waldenses,  durinof  the 
Dark  Ages,  were  dispersed  through  niany  of  the 
countries  of  Europe.  And  so  also  were  the  people 
called  Cathari,  if,  indeed,  the  two  were  not  one  peo- 
ple. In  particular,  we  note  the  fact  that  they  were 
scattered  through  Poland,  Lithuania,  Sclavonia, 
Bulg:aria,  Livonia,  Albania,  and  Sarmatia.^  These 
countries  are  now  parts  of  the  Russian  Empire. 
Sabbath-keepers  were  numerous  in  Russia  before 
the  time  of  Luther.  The  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
was  certainly  retained  by  many  of  the  ancient 
Waldenses  and  Cathari,  as  we  have  seen.  In 
fact,  the  very  things  said  of  the  Russian  Sabbath- 
keepers,  that  they  held  to  circumcision  and  the 
ceremonial  law,  were  also  said  of  the  Cathari,  and 
of  that  branch  of  the  Waldenses  called  Passagin- 
ians.^  Is  there  any  reasonable  doubt  that  in 
these  ancient  Christians  we  have  the  ancestors 
of  the  Russian  Sabbath-keepers  of  the  fifteenth 
century  ? 

Mr.  Maxson  makes  the  followincr  statement : — 

"  We  find  that  Sabbatli-keepers  appear  in  Germany  late 
in  the  fifteenth  or  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  accord- 
ing to  '  Ross's  Picture  of  All  Religions. '  By  this  we  are  to 
understand  that  their  numbers  were  such  as  to  lead  to 
organization,  and  attract  attention.  A  number  of  these 
formed  a  church,  and  emigrated  to  America,  in  the  early 
settlement  of  this  coimtry. " " 

Mr.  Utter  makes  the  following  statement  re- 
specting Sabbath-keepers  in  Germany  and  in 
Holland : — 

"Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  there  are  traces  of 
Sabbath-keepers  in  Germany.  The  Old  Dutch  Martyr- 
ology   gives   an   account   of    a   Baptist   minister  named 

1  See  the  twentv-first  chapter  of  this  work. 

2  Id.  lb.  '       3  Maxson's  Hist.  Sab.  p.  41. 


468  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABCATII. 

Stephen  Benedict,  somewhat  famous  for  baptizing  during 
a  severe  i^ersecution  in  Holland,  who  is  supposed  by  good 
autliorities  to  have  kept  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath. 
One  of  the  persons  baptized  by  him  was  Barbary  von 
Thiers,  wife  of  Hans  Borzen,  who  was  executed  on  the 
IGtli  of  September,  1529.  At  her  trial  she  declared  her 
rejection  of  the  idolatrous  sacrament  of  the  priest,  and 
also  the  Mass. "  ^ 

We  give  her  declaration  of  faith  respecting 
Sundays  and  holy  days : — 

' '  God  has  commanded  us  to  rest  on  the  seventh  day. 
Beyond  this  she  did  not  go  :  but  with  the  help  and  grace 
of  God  she  would  persevere  therein,  and  in  death  abide 
thereby  ;  for  it  is  the  true  faith,  and  the  right  way  in 
Christ."- 

Another  martyr,  Christina  Tolingerin,  is  men- 
tioned thus : — 

"  Concerning  holy  days  and  Sundays,  she  said  :  '  In 
six  days  the  Lord  made  the  world,  on  the  seventh  day  he 
rested.  The  other  holy  days  have  been  instituted  by 
popes,  cardinals,  and  archbishops.'"^ 

There  were  at  this  time  Sabbath-keepers  in 
France : — 

"In  France  also  there  were  Christians  of  this  class, 
among  whom  were  M.  de  la  Roque,  who  wrote  in  defense 
of  the  Sabbath  against  Bossuet,  Catholic  bishop  of 
Meaux."* 

M.  de  la  Eoque  is  referred  to  by  Dr.  Wall  in 
his  famous  history  of  infant  baptism  "  as  a  learned 
man  in  other  points/'  but  in  great  error  for  as- 
serting that  "  the  primitive  church  did  not  bap- 
tize infants."  ^     It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  Sab- 

'  Manual  of  the  Seventh-day  Baptists,  p.  1(3. 

2Martyrolot?y  of  the  Clmrches  of  (Mirist,  commonlv  called  Bap- 
tists, during  the  era  of  the  Reformation.  From  the  Dutch  of  T.  J. 
Van  iJraght,  London,  185U,  vol.  i.  pp.  11;],  114. 

'M.  p.  11-.  ''Manual  of  the  S.  1).  Baptists,  p.  IG. 

'Wall's  lli.story  of  Infant  Baptism,  vol.  ii.  p.  o7'.»,  Oxford,  1835. 


SABBATH    IN    THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  469 

bath-keepers  are  always  observers  of  scriptural 
baptism — the  burial  of  penitent  believers  in  the 
watery  grave.  No  people  retaining  infant  bap- 
tism, or  the  sprinkling  of  believers,  have  observed 
the  seventh  clay.  ^ 

The  origin  of  the  Sabbatarians  of  England  can- 
not now  be  definitely  ascertained.  Their  ob- 
servance of  believers'  baptism  and  the  keeping  of 
the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord, 
strongly  attest  their  descent  from  the  persecuted 
heretics  of  the  Dark  Ages,  rather  than  from  the 
reformers  of  the  sixteenth  centuiy,  who  retained 
infant  baptism  and  the  festival  of  Sunday.  That 
these  heretics  had  long  been  numerous  in  Eng- 
land, is  thus  certified  by  Crosby : — 

"  For  in  the  time  of  William  tlie  Conqueror  [a.  d.  1070] 
and  his  son  William  Rufus,  it  appears  that  the  Waldenses 
and  their  disciples  out  of  France,  Germany,  and  Holland, 
had  their  frequent  recourse,  and  did  abound  in  England. 

The  Beringarian,  or  Waldensian  heresy,  as  the 

chronologer  calls  it,  had,  about  a.  d.  1080,  generally  cor- 
rupted all  France,  Italy,  and  England.  "- 

Mr.  Maxson  says  of  the  English  Sabbata- 
rians : — 

"In  England  we  find  Sabbath-keepers  very  early.  Dr. 
Chambers  says  :  '  They  arose  in  England  in  the  sixteenth 
century,'  from  which  we  understand  that  they  then  be- 
came a  distinct  denomination  in  that  kingdom."^ 

Mr.  Benedict  speaks  thus  of  the  origin  of  Eng- 
lish Sabbatarians : — 

"  At  what  time  the  Seventh-day  Baptists  began  to  form 

il  know  of  no  exception  to  this  statement.  If  there  be  any  it 
must  be  found  in  the  cases  of  those  observinj":  both  scA^enth  and 
fii'st  days.  Even  here,  there  is  certainly  no  such  thins;  as  sprink- 
linej  for  baptism,  but  possibly  there  may  be  the  baptism  of  young 
children.  2 Hist.  English  Baptists,  yol.  ii.  pref.  pp.  4",  44. 

-Maxson's  Hist.  Sab.  v.  4'2. 


470  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

cliurclies  in  this  kingdom  does  not  appear  ;  but  probably 
it  was  at  an  early  period  ;  and  although  their  churches 
have  never  been  numerous,  yet  there  have  been  among 
them  almost  for  two  hundred  years  past,  some  very  em- 
inent men."  ^ 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

HOW  AND   WHEN   SUNDAY  APPROPRIATED  THE 
FOURTH   COMMANDMENT. 

The  light  of  the  Reformation  destroyed  many  of  the  best 
.Sunday  arguments  of  the  preceding  Dark  Ages — The  con- 
troversy between  the  Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians  of 
England  brings  Sunday  sacredness  to  the  test — The  former 
discover  the  means  of  enforcing  the  observance  of  Sunday 
by  the  fourth  commandment — How  this  can  be  done — Ef- 
fects of  this  extraordinary  discovery — History  of  the  Sun- 
day festival  concluded. 

The  light  of  the  Reformation  necessarily  dissi- 
pated into  thin  air  many  of  the  most  substantial 
arguments  by  which  the  Sunday  festival  had  been 
built  up  during  the  Dark  Ages.  The  roll  that 
fell  from  Heaven — the  apparition  of  St.  Peter — 
the  relief  of  souls  in  purgatory,  and  even  of  the 
damned  in  hell — and  many  prodigies  of  fearful 
portent — none  of  these,  nor  all  of  them  combined, 
were  hkely  longer  to  sustain  the  sacredness  of 
the  venerable  day.  True  it  was  that  when  these 
were  sw^ept  away  there  remained  to  sustain  the 
festival  of  Sunday,  the  canons  of  councils,  the 
edicts  of  kings  and  emperors,  the  decrees  of  the 
lioly  doctors  of  the  church,  and,  greatest  of  all, 

the   imperious  mandates  of  the  Roman  pontiff". 

« 

'  (ion.  Tlist.  lini)f.  Denoni.  vol.  ii.  p.  414,  cd.  1S13. 


SUNDAY    USURPS    THE    COMMAXDMENT.  471 

Yet  these  could  be  adduced  also  in  behalf  of  the 
innumerable  festivals  ordained  by  the  same  great 
apostate  church.  Such  authority  would  answer 
for  the  Episcopalian,  who  devoutly  accepts  of  all 
these  festivals,  because  commanded  so  to  do  by 
the  church ;  but  for  those  who  acknowledge  the 
Bible  as  the  only  rule  of  faith,  the  case  was  dif- 
ferent. In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians  of 
England  were  involved  in  such  a  controversy  as 
brought  this  matter  to  an  issue.  The  Episcopa- 
lians required  men  to  observe  all  the  festivals  of 
the  church ;  the  Presbyterians  observed  Sunday, 
and  rejected  all  the  rest.  The  Episcopalians 
showed  the  inconsistency  of  this  discrimination, 
inasmuch  as  the  same  church  authority  had  or- 
dained them  all.  As  the  Presbyterians  rejected 
the  authority  of  the  church,  they  would  not  keep 
Sunday  upon  that  ground,  especially  as  it  would 
involve  the  observance  also  of  all  the  other  festi- 
vals. They  had  to  choose  therefore  between  the 
giving  up  of  Sunday  entirely,  and  the  defense  of 
its  observance  by  the  Bible.  There  was  indeed 
another  and  a  nobler  choice  that  they  might  have 
made,  viz.,  to  adopt  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  but 
it  was  too  humiliating  for  them  to  unite  with 
those  who  retained  that  ancient  and  sacred  insti- 
tution. The  issue  of  this  struo^ale  is  thus  related 
by  a  distinguished  German  theologian,  Hengsten- 
berg  :— 

' '  The  opinion  that  the  Sabbath  was  transferred  to  the 
Sunday  was  first  broached  in  its  perfect  form,  and  with 
all  its  consequences,  in  the  controversy  which  was  carried 
on  in  Ensfland  between  the  Episcopalians  and  Presbyte- 
rians. The  Presbyterians,  who  carried  to  extremes  the 
principle,  that  every  institution  of  the  church  must  have 
its  foundation   in  the   Scriptures,  and  would  not  allow 


472  IIISTOllY    OF    THE    SADBATH. 

iliat  God  had  given,  in  this  respect,  greater  liberty  to  the 
church  of  the  New  Testament,  which  his  Spirit  had 
brought  to  maturity,  than  to  that  of  the  Okl,  charged 
the  Episcopalians  with  popish  leaven,  and  superstition, 
and  subjection  to  the  ordinances  of  men,  because  they 
retained  the  Christian  feasts.  The  Episcopalians,  on  the 
other  hand,  as  a  proof  that  greater  liberty  was  granted  to 
the  New-Testament  church  in  such  matters  as  these,  ap- 
pealed to  the  fact  that  even  the  observance  of  the  Sun- 
day was  only  an  arrangement  of  the  church.  The  Pres- 
byterians were  now  in  a  position  which  compelled  them 
either  to  give  up  the  observance  of  the  Sunday,  or  to 
maintain  that  a  divine  appointment  from  God  separated 
it  from  the  other  festivals.  The  iirst  they  could  not  do, 
for  their  Christian  experience  was  too  deep  for  them  not 
to  know  hoAv  greatly  the  weakness  of  human  nature 
stands  in  need  of  regularly  returning  periods,  devoted  to 
tlie  service  of  God.  They  therefore  decided  upon  the 
latter."^ 

Thus  mucli  for  the  occasion  of  that  wonderful 
discovery  by  which  the  Scriptures  are  made  to 
sustain  the  divine  appointment  of  Sunday  as  the 
Christian  Sabbath.  The  date  of  the  discovery, 
the  name  of  the  discoverer,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  contrived  to  enforce  the  first  day  of  the 
week  by  the  authority  of  the  fourth  command- 
ment, are  thus  set  forth  by  a  candid  iirst-day  his- 
torian, Lyman  Coleman : — 

' '  The  true  doctrine  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  was  first 
promulgated  by  an  English  dissenter,  the  Rev.  Nicholas 
Bound,  D.  D.,  of  Norton,  in  the  county  of  Suflfollc. 
About  the  year  1595,  he  published  a  famous  book,  enti- 
tled, 'Sabbathum  Vcteris  et  Novi  Testamenti,' or  the 
True  Doctrine  of  the  Sabbath.  In  this  book  he  main- 
tained '  that  the  seventh  part  of  our  time  ought  to  be  de- 
voted to  God— that  Christians  are  bound  to  rest  on  the 
Lord's  day  as  much  as  the  Jews  were  on  the  Mosaic  Sab- 
batli,  the  commandment  alx)ut  rest  being  moral  and  per- 
petual ;  and  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  persons  to  follow 

'  If(Migstcnbcr,<;'s  Lord's  Day,  \^.  C<i]. 


SUNDAY    USURPS    THE    COMMANDMENT.  473 

their  studies  or  worldly  business  on  that  day,  nor  to  use 
such  pleasures  and  recreations  as  are  permitted  on  other 
days.'  This  book  spread  with  wonderful  rapidity.  The 
doctrine  which  it  propounded  called  forth  from  many 
hearts  a  ready  response,  and  the  result  was  a  most  pleas- 
ing reformation  in  many  parts  of  the  kingdom.  '  It  is 
almost  incredible,'  says  Fuller,  'how  taking  this  doctrine 
was,  partly  because  of  its  own  purity,  and  partly  for  the 
eminent  piety  of  such  persons  as  maintained  it  ;  so  that 
the  Lord's  day,  especially  in  corporations,  began  to  be 
precisely  kept  ;  people  becoming  a  law  unto  themselves, 
forbearing  such  sports  as  yet  by  statute  permitted  ;  yea, 
many  rejoicing  at  their  own  restraint  herein.'  The  law 
of  the  Sabbath  was  indeed  a  religious  principle,  after 
which  the  Christian  church  had,  for  centuries,  been 
darkly  groping.  Pious  men  of  every  age  had  felt  the 
necessity  of  divine  authority  for  sanctifying  the  day. 
Their  conscience  had  been  in  advance  of  their  reason. 
Practically  they  had  kept  the  Sabbath  better  than  their 
principles  required. 

"  Public  sentiment,  however,  was  still  unsettled  in  re- 
gard to  this  new  doctrine  respecting  the  Sabbath,  though 
a  few  at  first  violently  opposed  it.  '  Learned  men  Avere 
much  divided  in  their  judgments  about  these  Sabbatarian 
doctrines  ;  some  embraced  them  as  ancient  truths  conso- 
nant to  Scripture,  long  disused  and  neglected,  now  sea- 
sonably revived  for  the  increase  of  pietj^.  Others  con- 
ceived them  grounded  on  a  wrong  bottom  ;  but  because 
they  tended  to  the  manifest  advance  of  religion,  it  was  a 
pity  to  oppose  them  ;  seeing  none  have  just  reason  to 
complain,  being  deceived  unto  their  own  good.  But  a 
third  sort  flatly  fell  out  with  these  propositions,  as  gall- 
ing men's  necks  with  a  Jcvnsli  yoke  against  the  liberty  of 
Christians  ;  that  Christ,  as  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  had  re- 
moved the  rigor  thereof,  and  allowed  men  lawful  recrea- 
tions ;  that  this  doctrine  put  an,  imegual  lustre  on  the  ISvn- 
day,  on  set  purpose  to  eclipse  all  other  holy  days,  to  the 
derogation  of  the  authority  of  the  church  ;  that  this  strict 
observance  was  set  up  out  of  faction,  to  be  a  character 
of  diflerence  to  brand  all  for  libertines  who  did  not  enter- 
tain it.'  No  open  opposition,  however,  was  at  first  man- 
ifested against  the  sentiments  of  Dr.  Bound,  No  reply 
was  attempted  for  several  years,  and  '  not  so  much  as  a 
feather  of  ji  quill  in  print  d^d  wag  against  him.' 

t^ablj.ith  History.  .'>i 


474  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAHBATH. 

"  His  work  was  soon  followed  by  several  other  treatises 
in  defense  of  the  same  sentiments.  '  All  the  Puritans 
fell  in  with  this  doctrine,  and  distinguished  themselves 
by  spending  that  part  of  sacred  time  in  public,  family, 
and  private  devotion.'  Even  Dr.  Heylyn  certified  the 
triumphant  spread  of  those  ^puritanical  sentiments  respect- 
ing the  Sabbath 

"'This  doctrine,' he  says,  'carrying  such  a  fair  shov/ 
of  piety,  at  least  in  the  opinion  of  the  common  people, 
and  such  as  did  not  examine  the  true  grounds  of  it,  in- 
duced many  to  embrace  and  defend  it  ;  and  in  a  very 
little  time  it  became  the  most  bewitching  error  and  the 
most  popular  infatuation  that  ever  was  embraced  by  the 
people  of  England.'  "  ^ 

Dr.  Bound  was  not  absolutely  the  inventor  of 
the  seventh-part-of-time  theory ;  but  he  may  be 
said  rather  to  have  gathered  up  and  combined 
the  scattered  hints  of  his  predecessors,  and  to 
have  added  to  these  something  of  his  own  pro- 
duction. His  grounds  for  asserting  Sunday  to 
be  the  Sabbath  of  the  fourth  commandment  are 
these : — 

"That  which  is  natural,  namely,  that  every  seventh 
day  should  be  kept  holy  unto  the  Lord,  that  still  re- 
maineth  :  that  which  is  positive,  namely,  that  day  which 
wa.s  the  seventh  day  from  the  creation,  should  be  the 
Sabbath,  or  day  of  rest,  that  is  now  changed  in  the 
church  of  God." " 

He  says  that  the  meaning  of  the  declaration, 
"  Tlie  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God,"  is  this  :— 

"  There  must  be  one  [day]  of  seven  and  not  [one]  of 
eiaht."" 


1  Coleman's  Ancient  Christianitj  Exemplified,  chap.  xxvi.  sect. 
•J  ;  Heylyn'.s  Hist.  Sab.  part  ii.  chap.  viii.  .sect.  V  ;  Neal's  Hist. 
Puritans,  part  i.  chap.  viii. 

'^  Subbathiiin  Veteris  et  Novi  Testamenti  ;  or,  the  True  Doctrine 
of  llie  Sabbath,  bv  Nicholas  Hound,  1).  1).,  sec.  ed.  London, 
If.'";,  p.  .-,1.  ■  y  Id.  p.  ''.<;. 


srxDAY  rsiMiPs  the  comjiaxdment.  47.") 

But  the  special  key  to  the  whole  theory  is  in 
the  statement  that  the  seventh  day  in  the  com- 
mandment was  "genus''  that  is  to  say,  it  was  a 
kind  of  seventh  day  which  comprehended  several 
species  of  seventh  days,  at  least  two.  Thus  he 
says  :— 

"So  lie  maketli  the  seventh  day  to  be  genus  in  this 
commandment,  and  to  be  perpetual  :  and  in  it  by  virtue 
of  the  commandment  to  comprehend  these  two  species  or 
kinds  :  the  Sabbath  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles,  of 
the  law  and  of  the  gospel  :  so  that  both  of  them  were 
comprehended  in  the  commandment,  even  as  gemwi  com- 
prehendeth  both  liis  species."  ^ 

He  enforces  the  first  day  by  the  fourth  com- 
mandment, as  follows : — 

"  So  that  we  have  not  in  the  gospel  a  new  command- 
ment for  tlie  Sa,bbath,  diverse  from  that  that  was  in  the 
law  ;  but  there  is  a  diverse  time  appointed  ;  namely,  not 
the  seventh  day  from  the  creation,  but  the  day  of  Christ's 
resurrection,  and  the  seventh  from  that  :  both  of  them  at 
several  times  being  comprehended  in  the  fourth  com- 
mandment. "- 

He  means  to  say  that  the  fourth  command- 
ment enforces  the  seventh  day  from  the  creation 
to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  since  that  en- 
forces a  difierent  seventh  day,  namely,  the  sev- 
enth from  Christ's  resurrection.  Such  is  the  per- 
verse ingenuity  by  which  men  can  evade  the  law 
of  God  and  yet  make  it  appear  that  they  are 
faithfully  observing  it. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  tlie  seventh-part-of- 
time  theory,  by  w^hich  the  seventh  day  is  dropped 
out  of  the  fourth  commandment,  and  one  day  in 
seven  slipped  into  its  place ;  a  doctrine  most  op- 
portunely framed  at  the  very  period  wdien  noth- 


True  Doc.  of  the  Sab.  p.  Tl.  2  id.  p.  72. 


47(3  iiJSTouv  OK  THE  sabbath. 

ing  else  could  save  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun. 
With  the  aid  of  this  theory,  the  Sunday  of  "  Pope 
and  Pagan  "  was  able  coolly  to  wrap  itself  in  the 
fourth  commandment,  and  then  in  the  character 
of  a  divine  institution,  to  challenge  obedience 
from  all  Bible  Christians.  It  could  now  cast 
away  the  other  frauds  on  which  its  very  exist- 
ence had  depended,  and  support  its  authority  by 
this  one  alone.  In  the  time  of  Cons  tan  tine  it 
ascended  the  throne  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
during  the  Avhole  period  of  the  Dark  Ages  it 
maintained  its  supremacy  from  the  chair  of  St. 
Peter;  but  now  it  had  ascended  the  throne  of 
the  Most  High.  And  thus  a  day  which  God 
"commanded  not  nor  spake  it,  neither  came  it 
into"  his  "mind,"  was  enjoined  upon  mankind 
with  all  the  authority  of  his  holy  law.  The  im- 
mediate effect  of  Dr.  Bound's  work  upon  the  ex- 
isting controversy  is  thus  described  by  an  Episco- 
palian eye-witness,  Dr.  Heylyn : — 

' '  For  by  inculcating  to  the  people  these  new  Sabbatli 
.speculations  [concerning  Sunday],  teaching  that  that  day 
only 'was  of  God's  appointment,  and  all  the  rest  ob- 
served in  the  church  of  England,  a  remnant  of  the  will- 
Avorship  in  the  church  of  Rome  ;'  the  other  holy  days  in 
this  church  established,  were  so  shrewdly  shaken  that  till 
this  day  they  are  not  well  recovered  of  the  blow  then 
given,  Nor  came  this  on  the  l)y  or  besides  their  pm-pose, 
but  as  a  thing  that  specially  was  intended  from  the  first 
beginning."^ 

In  a  former  chapter,  we  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  Sunday  can  be  maintained  as  a  divine 
institution  only  by  adopting  the  rule  of  faith  ac- 
knowledged in  the  church  of  Rome,  which  is,  the 
Bible  with  the  traditions  of  the  church  added 
thereto.     We  have  seen  that  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 

'  Hist,  i^iih.  part  ii.  cliap.  viii.  sect.  ?. 


SrXDAY    rsCKPS    THK    COMMANDMENT,  hT 

tury  the  Presbyterians  of  England  were  brought 
to  decide  between  giving  up  Sunday  as  a  church 
festival  and  maintaining  it  as  a  divine  institution 
by  the  Bible.  They  chose  the  latter  course.  Yet 
while  apparently  avoiding  the  charge  of  observing 
a  Catholic  festival,  by  claiming  to  prove  the  Sun- 
day institution  out  of  the  Bible,  the  utterly  unsat- 
isfactory nature  of  the  several  inferences  adduced 
from  the  Scriptures  in  support  of  that  day,  com- 
pelled them  to  resort  to  the  traditions  of  the 
church,  and  to  add  these  to  their  so-called  bib- 
lical evidences  in  its  behalf.  It  would  be  no 
worse  to  keep  Sunday  while  frankly  acknowd- 
edo'incr  it  to  be  a  festival  of  the  Catholic  church, 
not  commanded  in  the  Bible,  than  it  is  to  profess 
tliat  you  observe  it  as  a  biblical  institution,  and 
then  prove  it  to  be  such  by  adopting  the  rule 
of  faith  of  the  Romanists.  Joannes  Perrone, 
an  eminent  Italian  Catholic  theologian,  in  an 
important  doctrinal  work,  entitled,  '''  Theological 
Lessons,"  makes  a  very  impressive  statement 
respecting  the  acknowledgment  of  tra.dition  by 
Protestant  Sunday-keepers.  In  his  chapter  "  Con- 
cerninof  the  Necessity  and  Existence  of  Tradi- 
tion," he  lays  do^\^l  the  proposition  that  it  is  nec- 
essary to  admit  doctrines  which  we  can  prove 
only  from  tradition,  and  cannot  sustain  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures.     Then  he  says  : — 

"•'It  is  not  possible,  mdeed,  if  traditions  of  such  char- 
acter are  rejected,  tha-t  several  doctrines,  which  the  Pro- 
testants held  with  ns  since  they  withdrew  from  the  Cath- 
olic church,  could,  in  any  possible  manner,  be  established. 
The  fact  is  placed  beyond  a  venture  of  a  doubt,  for 
they  themselves  hold  with  us  the  validity  of  baptism  ad- 
ministered by  heretics  or  infidels,  the  validity  also  of 
infant  baptism,  the  true  form  of  baptism  [sprinkling]  ; 
they  held,  too,  that  the  law  of  abstaining  from  blood  and 


478  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

anything  strangled  is  not  in  force  ;  also  concerning  the 
substitution  of  the  Lord's  day  for  the  Sabbath  ;  besides 
those  things  ^"hich  I  have  mentioned  before,  and  not  a 
few  others. "  ^ 

Dr.  Bound's  theory  of  the  seventh  part  of  tune 
has  found  general  acceptance  in  all  those  churches 
which  sprung  from  the  church  of  Rome.  Most 
forcibly  did  old  Cotton  Mather  observe : — 

''The  reforming  churches,  flying  from  Rome,  carried, 
some  of  them  more,  some  of  them  less,  all  of  them  some- 
thing, of  Rome  with  them." " 

One  sacred  treasure  which  they  all  drew  from 
the  venerable  mother  of  harlots  is  the  ancient 
festival  of  the  sun.  She  had  crushed  out  of  her 
communion  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  and  having 
adopted  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun,  had  trans- 
formed it  into  the  Lord's  day  of  the  Christian 
church.  The  reformed,  fl3"ing  from  her  commun- 
ion, and  carrying  with  them  tliis  ancient  festival, 
now  found  themselves  able  to  justify  its  observ- 
ance as  being  indeed  tlie  veritable  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord  !  As  the  seamless  coat  of  Jesus,  tlie  Lord 
of  the  Sabbath,  was  torn  from  him  before  he  was 
nailed  to  the  cross,  so  has  the  fourth  command- 
ment been  torn  from  the  rest-day  of  the  Lord, 
around  which  it  was  placed  by  tlie  great  Law- 
giver, and  given  to  this  papal  Lord's  day;  and 

1  Prselectioues  Theological,  a'oI.  i.  part  ii.  sect.  2,  cap.  i.  p.  194. 
"Propositio.  Praeter  sacram  Scripturam  adraitti  uecessario  de- 
bent   Traditiones  divinae  dogmaticse  ab  ilia  prorsus  distinctae." 

"Noil  posse  praeterea,  rejectis  ejusmodi  traditionibus,  plura 
dogmata,  quic  nobiscum  retinuerunt'protestantes  cum  ab  Ecclesia 
catholica  recesserunt,  uUo  modo  adstruis,  res  est  citra  omnis  du- 
bitationis  aleam  posita.  Etenim  ipsi  nobiscum  retinuerunt  val- 
orem baptismi  ab  haereticis  aut  intidclibus  administrati,  valorem 
item  paedobaptismi,  germanam  baptismi  formam,  ccssationem 
Icgis  (Ic  abstiucntia  a  sanguine  et  suffocato,  de  die  dominico  Sab- 
batis  suiFecto,  practcr  ea  quae  superius  commemoravimus  aliaque 
baud  pauca." 

-Uackns'  Hist,  of  the  Tlaptist^  in  Xew  England,  p.  <>'■),  cd.  1777. 


ENGLISH    SABBATII-KEEPEKS.  470 

this  Barabbas  the  robber,  thus  arrayed  in  the 
stolen  fourth  commandment,  has  from  that  time 
to  the  present  day,  and  with  astonishing  success, 
challenged  the  obedience  of  the  world  as  the  di- 
vinely appointed  Sabbath  of  the  most  high  God. 
Here  we  close  the  history  of  the  Sunday  festival, 
now  fully  transformed  into  the  Christian  Sabbath. 
A  rapid  survey  of  the  history  of  English  and 
American  Sabbath-keepers  will  conclude  this 
work. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


ENGLISH    SABBATH-KEEPERS. 

English  Sabbatarians  in  the  sixteenth  century — Their  doc- 
trines— John  Trask  for  these  doctrines  pilloried,  whipt, 
and  imprisoned — He  recants — Character  of  Mrs.  Trask — 
Her  crime — Her  indomitable  courage — She  suffers  fifteen 
years'  imprisonment,  and  dies  in  the  prison — Principles  of 
the  Traskites — Brabourne  writes  in  behalf  of  the  seventh 
day — Appeals  to  King  Charles  I.  to  restore  the  ancient 
Sabbath — The  king  employs  Dr.  White  to  write  against 
Brabourne,  and  Dr.  Heylyn  to  write  the  History  of  the 
Sabbath — The  king  intimidates  Brabourne  and  he  recants 
— He  returns  again  to  the  Sabbath — Philip  Tandy — James 
Ockford  writes  "The  Doctrine  of  the  Fourth  Command- 
ment"— His  book  burned — Edward  Stennett — Wm.  Sellers 
— Cruel  Treatment  of  Francis  Bampfield — Thomas  Bamp- 
field — Martyrdom  of  John  James — How  the  Sabbath  cause 
was  prostrated  in  England. 

Chambers  speaks  thus  of  Sabbath -keepers  in 
the  sixteenth  century : — 

"In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  it  occurred  to  many  con- 
scientious and  independent  thinkers  (as  it  had  previously 
done  to  some  Protestants  in  Boliemia),  that  the  fourth  com- 
mandment required  c>f  them  the  observance,  not  of  the 


-4S(I  HISTORY    OF    THE    SAKHATH. 

first,  but  of  the  siJecified  seventh  day  of  the  week,  and  a 
strict  bodily  rest,  as  a  service  then  due  to  God  ;  while 
others,  though  convinced  that  the  day  had  been  altered 
by  divine  authority,  took  up  the  same  opinion  as  to  the 
scriptural  obligation  to  refrain  from  work.  The  former 
class  became  numerous  enough  to  make  a  considerable 
figure  for  more  than  a  century  in  England,  under  the 
title  of  '  Sabbatarians ' — a  word  now  exchanged  for  the 
less  ambiguous  appellation  of  '  Seventh-day  Baptists.'  "  * 

Gilfillan  quotes  an  English  writer  of  the  year 
1584,  John  Stockwoocl,  who  says  that  there  were 
then 

"  A  great  diversity  of  opinion  among  the  vulgar  people 
and  simple  sort,  concerning  the  Sabbath  day,  and  the 
right  use  of  the  same." 

And  Gilfillan  states  one  of  the  ocrounds  of  con- 
troversy  thus : — 

' '  Some  maintaining  the  unchanged  and  unchangeable 
obligation  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath."" 

In  1607,  an  English  first-day  writer,  John 
Sprint,  gave  the  viev/s  of  the  Sabbath-keepers  of 
that  time,  which  in  truth  have  been  substantially 
the  same  in  all  ages  : — 

''They  allege  reasons  drawn,  1.  From  the  precedence 
of  tlie  Sabbath  before  the  law,  and  before  the  fall ;  the 
laws  of  which  nature  are  immutable.  2.  From  the  per- 
petuity of  the  moral  law,  3.  And  from  the  large  extent 
tlicreof  appertaining  to  [the  Sabbath  above]  all  [the  other 
precepts.]  4.  .  .  .  And  of  the  cause  of  [this  precept  of] 
the  law  which  maketh  it  perpetual,  which  is  the  memorial 
and  meditation  of  the  works  of  God  ;  which  belong  unto 
tlie  Christians  as  well  as  to  the  Jews."" 

John  Trask  began  to  speak  and  wi'ite  in  favor 
of  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord, 
about  the  time  that  King  James  I.,  and  the  arch- 

»  Chambers'  Cyclopedia,  article.  Sabbath,  vol.  viii.  p.  402,  Lon- 
don. 18f,7.  MWlfiUan's  Sabbath,  p.  CO. 
» Observation  of  the  Christian  Sabbath,  p.  J. 


ENGLISH    SAIJBATII-KEEPEIIS.  4Sl 

bishop  of  Canterburv,  published  the  famous 
"  Book  of  Sports  for  Sunday,"  in  KUS.  His  field 
of  labor  was  London,  and  being  a  very  zealous 
man,  he  was  soon  called  to  account  by  the  perse- 
cuting authority  of  the  church  of  England.  He 
took  high  ground  as  to  the  sufficiency  of  the 
Scriptures  to  direct  in  all  religious  services,  and 
that  the  civil  authorities  ouglit  not  to  constrain 
men's  consciences  in  matters  of  religion.  He  was 
brought  before  the  infamous  Star  Chamber,  where 
a  long  discussion  was  held  respecting  the  Sabbath. 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Bishop  Andrews 
first  brought  forward  that  now  famous  first-day 
argument,  that  the  early  martyrs  were  tested  by 
the  question,  "  Hast  thou  kept  the  Lord's  day  ?  "  ^ 
Giifillan,  quoting  the  words  of  cotemporaiy 
Avriters,  says  of  Trask's  trial  that, 

'  '■  For  '  making  of  conventicles  and  factions,  by  that 
means  which  may  tend  to  sedition  and  commotion,  and 
for  scandalizing  the  king,  the  bishops,  and  the  clergy,' 
'  he  was  censured  in  the  Star  Chamber  to  be  set  upon  the 
pillory  at  Westminster,  and  from  thence  to  be  whipt  to 
the  fleet,  there  to  remain  a  prisoner.' " - 

This  cruel  sentence  was  carried  into  execution, 
and  finally  broke  his  spirit.  After  enduring  the 
misery  of  his  prison  for  one  year,  he  recanted  his 
doctrine.^  The  case  of  his  wife  is  worthy  of  par- 
ticular mention.     Pagitt  gives  her  character  thus: 

' '  She  was  a  woman  endued  with  many  particular  vir- 
tues, well  worthy  the  imitation  of  all  good  Christians, 
had  not  error  in  other  things,  especially  a  spirit  of  strange 
unparalleled  opinionativeness  and  obstinacy  in  her  pri- 
vate conceits,  spoiled  her. "  * 

Pagitt  says  that  she  was  a  school  teacher  of 

1  See  the  fifteenth  chaptei"  of  this  work. 

2  GilfiUan's  Sabbath,  p.  88.  3  Id.  Tb. 
■iPagitt's  Heresiographv,  p.  200,  London,  1061. 


482  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

superior  excellence.  She  was  particularly  careful 
in  her  dealings  with  the  poor.  He  gives  her 
reasons  thus : — 

"  This  she  professed  to  do  out  of  conscience,  as  beUev- 
ing  she  must  one  dcay  come  to  be  judged  for  all  things 
done  in  the  flesh.  Therefore  she  resolved  to  go  by  the 
safest  rule,  rather  against  than  for  her  private  interest."  * 

Pagitt  gives  her  crime  in  the  following  words : — 

' '  At  last  for  teaching  only  live  days  in  the  week,  and 
resting  upon  Saturday,  it  being  known  upon  u'hat  account 
she  did  it,  she  was  carried  to  the  new  prison  in  Maiden 
Lane,  a  place  then  appointed  for  the  restraint  of  several 
other  persons  of  different  opinions  from  the  church  of 
England."- 

Observe  the  crime  :  it  was  not  what  she  did, 
for  a  first-day  person  might  have  done  the  same, 
l)ut  because  she  did  it  to  obey  the  fourth  com- 
mandment. Her  motive  exposed  her  to  the 
vengeance  of  the  authorities.  She  was  a  woman 
of  indomitable  courage,  and  would  not  purchase 
her  liberty  by  renouncing  the  Lord's  Sabbath. 
During  her  long  imprisonment,  Pagitt  says  that 
some  one  wrote  her  thus : — 

"Your  constant  suffering  would  be  praiseworthy,  were 
it  for  truth  ;  but  being  for  en-or,  your  recantation  will  be 
both  more  acceptable  to  God,  and  laudable  before  men." " 

But  her  faith  and  patience  held  out  till  she 
was  released  by  death. 

"  Mrs.  Trask  lay  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  a  prisoner  for 
her  opinion  about  the  Saturday  Sabljath  ;  in  all  which 
time  she  would  receive  no  relief  from  anybody,  notwith- 
standing she  wanted  much  :  alleging  that  it  was  written, 
'  It  is  UKjre  blessed  ...  to  give  than  to  receive.'  Nei- 
ther would  she  borrow,  because  it  was  written,  '  Thou 
shalt  lend  to  many  nations,  and  shalt  not  borrow.'     So 

'  I'atritt's  llcrrsi(.irni],liy.  ]>.  2*K>.        2  Id.  p.  21".        •>  Id.  p.  H'A. 


ENGLISH    SABBATH-KEEPERS,  483 

she  deemed  it  a  dishonor  to  her  head,  Christ,  either  to 
beg  or  borrow.  Her  diet  for  the  most  part  during  her 
imprisonment,  that  is,  till  a  little  before  her  death,  was 
bread  and  water,  roots  and  herbs ;  no  flesh,  nor  wine,  nor 
brewed  drink.  All  her  means  was  an  annuity  of  forty 
shillings  a  year  ;  what  she  lacked  more  to  live  upon  she 
had  of  such  prisoners  as  did  employ  her  sometimes  to  do 
business  for  them,"  ^ 

Pagitt,  who  was  the  cotemporary  of  Trask, 
thus  states  the  principles  of  the  Sabbatarians  of 
that  time,  whom  he  calls  Traskites : — 

' '  The  positions  concerning  the  Sabbath  by  them  main- 
tained were  these  : — 

''  1,  That  the  fourth  commandment  of  the  Decalogue, 
'  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy '  [Ex.  20],  is 
a  divine  precept,  simply  and  entirely  moral,  containing 
nothing  legally  ceremonial  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  there- 
fore the  weekly  observation  thereof  ought  to  be  perpetual, 
and  to  continue  in  force  and  virtue  to  the  world's  end. 

' '  2.  That  the  Saturday,  or  seventh  day  in  every  week, 
ought  to  be  an  everlasting  holy  day  in  the  Christian 
church,  and  the  religious  observation  of  this  day  obligeth 
Christians  under  the  gospel,  as  it  did  the  Jews  before  the 
coming  of  Christ. 

"3.  That  the  Sunday,  or  Lord's  day,  is  an  ordinary 
working  day,  and  it  is  superstition  and  will- worship  to 
make  the  same  the  Sabbath  of  the  fourth  command- 
ment,"" 

It  was  for  this  noble  confession  of  faith  that 
Mrs,  Trask  was  shut  up  in  prison  till  the  day  of 
her  death.  For  the  same,  Mr.  Trask  was  com- 
pelled to  stand  in  the  pillory,  and  was  whipped 
from  thence  to  the  fleet,  and  then  shut  up  in  a 
wretched  prison,  from  which  he  escaped  by  re- 
cantation fifter  enduring  its  miseries  for  more 
than  a  year.^ 

1  Pagitt's  Heresiographj,  pp.  19(3,  197,  ^  id.  p.  161. 

3 Manual  of  the  Seventh-day  Baptists,  pp.  IT,  18;  Heylyn's 
Hist,  of  the  Sab,  part  ii.  chap.  viii.  sect,  lu  ;  Gilfillan's  Sabbath, 
l)p.  s'^,  s;i  ;  Cox'.s  Sabbath  Literature,  vol.  i.  pp.  l'»2,  l")-'3. 


IS4  HISTOKY    OF    THE    .SABBATH. 

Mr.  Utter  mentions  the  next  Sabbatarian  min- 
ister as  follows : — 

i'  Theophihis  Brabounie,  a  learned  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel in  the  established  church,  wrote  a  book,  which  was 
printed  at  London  in  1628,  wherein  he  argued  '  that  the 
Lord's  day  is  not  the  Sabbath  day  by  divine  institution,' 
but  '  that  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  is  now  in  force.'  Mr. 
Brabourne  published  another  book  in  1G32,  entitled,  '  A 
Defense  of  that  most  Ancient  and  Sacred  Ordinance  of 
God's,  the  Sabbath  Day.'  "^ 

Brabourne  dedicated  his  book  to  King  Charles 
I.,  requesting  him  to  use  his  royal  authority  for 
the  restoration  of  the  ancient  Sabbath.  But 
those  who  put  their  trust  in  princes  are  sure  to 
be  disappointed.  Dr.  F.  White,  bishop  of  Ely, 
thus  states  the  occasion  of  his  own  work  against 
the  Sabbath : — 

"Now  because  this  Brabourne's  treatise  of  the  Sab- 
bath was  dedicated  to  his  Royal  Majesty,  and  the  princi- 
ples upon  which  he  grounded  all  his  arguments  (being 
commonly  preached,  printed,  and  believed  throughout 
the  kingdom),  might  have  poisoned  and  infected  many 
people  either  with  this  Sabbatarian  error,  or  with  some 
other  of  like  quality  ;  it  was  the  king,  our  gracious  mas- 
ter, his  will  and  pleasure,  that  a  treatise  should  be  set 
forth,  to  prevent  further  mischief,  and  to  settle  his  good 
subjects  (who  have  long  time  been  distracted  about  Sab- 
batarian questions)  in  the  old  and  good  way  of  the  an- 
cient and  orthodoxal  Catholic  church.  Now  that  which 
his  sacred  Majesty  commanded,  I  have  by  your  Grace's 
direction  [Archbishop  Laud]  obediently  performed.  "- 

The  king  not  only  wished  by  this  appointment 
to  overthrow  those  who  kept  the  day  enjoined 
in  the  commandment,  but  also  those  who  by 
means  of  Dr.  Bound's  new  theory  pretended  that 

^Miinual  of  the  S.  1).  Baptists,  p.  18. 

■'  Dr.  Fruncis  White's  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Dav,  (luoled  in 
Cox's  Sal).  J. it.  vol.  i.  p.  KIT. 


ENGLISH    SABBATH-KEEPEES.  485 


Sunday  was  that  day.     He  therefore  joined  Dr. 
Heylyn  with  Bishop  White  in  this  work : — 

' '  Which  burden  being  held  of  too  great  weight  for  any 
one  to  undergo,  and  the  necessity  of  the  work  requiring 
a  quick  dispatch,  it  was  held  fit  to  divide  the  employment 
betwixt  two.  The  argumentative  and  scholastical  part 
was  referred  to  the  right  learned  Dr.  White,  then  bishop 
of  Ely,  who  had  given  good  proof  of  his  ability  in  polemic- 
al matters  in  several  books  and  disputations  against  the 
papists.  The  practical  and  historical  [was  to  be  written], 
by  Heylyn  of  Westminster,  who  had  gained  some  repu- 
tation for  his  studies  in  the  ancient  writers."  ^ 

The  works  of  White  and  Heylyn  were  pub- 
lished simultaneously  in  1635.  Dr.  White,  in 
addressing  himself  to  those  who  enforce  Sunday 
observance  by  the  fourth  commandment,  speaks 
thus  of  Brabourne's  arguments,  that  not  Sunday, 
but  the  ancient  seventh  day,  is  there  enjoined  : — 

''  Maintaining  your  own  principles  that  the  fourth  com- 
mandment is  purely  and  simply  moral  and  of  the  law  of 
nature,  it  v/ill  be  impossible  for  you  either  in  English  or 
in  Latin,  to  solve  Theophilus  Brabourne's  objections."- 

But  the  king  had  something  besides  argument 
for  Brabourne.  He  was  brought  befoi'e  Arch- 
bishop Laud  and  the  court  of  High  Commission, 
and,  moved  by  the  fate  of  Mrs.  Trask,  he  submit- 
ted for  the  time  to  the  authority  of  the  church 
of  England,  but  sometime  afterward  wrote  other 
books  in  behalf  of  the  seventh  day."  Dr.  White's 
book  has  this  pithy  notice  of  the  indetinite-time 
theory : — 


iHeylyn's  Cyprianus  Anglicus,  quoted  in  Cox,  vol.  i.  p.  173. 

2  Treatise  of  Ihe  Sabbath  Day,  p.  110. 

a  Hessey's  Bampton  Lectures,  pp.  373,  374;  Cox's  Sab.  Lit.  vol. 
ii.  p.  6  ;  A.  H.  Lewis's  Sabbath  and  Sunday,  i)p.  17S-184.  This 
work  contains  mucli  valuable  information  respecting  English  and 
American  Sabbatarian?. 


4S(;  IIISTOKV    OF    THi:    SABBATH. 

'^Because  an  indefinite  time  must  either  bind  to  all 
moments  of  time,  as  a  debt,  when  the  day  of  payment  is 
not  expressly  dated,  is  liable  to  payment  every  moment  ; 
or  else  it  binds  to  no  time  at  all." ^ 

Mr.  Utter,  after  the  statement  of  Brabourne's 
case,  continues  thus  : — 

"  About  this  time  Philip  Tandy  began  to  promulgate 
in  the  northern  part  of  England  the  same  doctrine  con- 
cerning the  Sabbath.  He  was  educated  in  the  established 
church,  of  which  he  became  a  minister.  Having  changed 
his  views  respecting  the  mode  of  baptism  and  the  day  of 
the  Sabbath,  he  abandoned  that  church  and  '  became  a 
mark  for  many  shots. '  He  held  several  public  disputes 
about  his  peculiar  sentiments,  and  did  much  to  propagate 
them.  James  Ockford  Avas  another  early  advocate  in 
England  of  the  claims  of  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath. 
He  appears  to  have  been  well  acquainted  with  the  discus- 
sions in  wliich  Trask  and  Brabourne  had  been  engaged. 
Being  dissatisfied  with  the  pretended  conviction  of  Bra- 
bourne,  he  wrote  a  book  in  defense  of  Sabbatarian  views, 
entitled,  'The  Doctrine  of  the  Fourth  Commandment.' 
This  book,  x^ublished  about  the  year  1642,  vras  burnt  by 
order  of  the  authorities  in  the  established  church." - 

The  famous  Stennett  family  furnished,  for  foiu- 
generations,  a  succession  of  able  Sabbatarian 
ministers.  Mr.  Edward  Stennett,  the  first  of 
these,  was  born  about  the  beginning  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century.  His  work  entitled,  "The  Roy- 
al Law  Contended  For,"  was  first  published  at 
London  in  1658.  "He  was  an  able  and  devoted 
minister,  but  dissenting  from  the  established 
church,  he  was  deprived  of  the  means  of  sup- 
port." "  He  suffered  much  of  the  persecution 
which  the  Dissenters  were  exposed  to  at  that 
time,  and  more  especially  for  his  faithful  adher- 
ence to  the  cause  of  the  Sabbath.  For  this  truth 
he  experienced  tribulation,  not  only  from  those  in 

>  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath  Day,  p.  73. 
-Manual  of  tlie  S.  1).  Baptists,  pp.  10,  20. 


ENGLISH    SABBATH-KEEPERS.  48T 

power,  by  whom  he  was  kept  a  long  time  in  prison, 
but  also  much  distress  from  unfriendly,  dissenting 
brethren,  who  strove  to  destroy  his  influence,  and 
ruin  his  cause."  In  1664,  he  published  a  work 
entitled,  "The  Seventh  Day  is  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord."  ^  In  1671,  Wm.  Sellers  wrote  a  work 
in  behalf  of  the  seventh  day  in  reply  to  Dr. 
Owen.     Cox  states  its  object  thus  : — 

''In  opposition  to  the  opinion  that  some  one  day  in 
seven  is  all  that  the  fourth  commandment  requires  to  be 
set  apart,  the  writer  maintains  the  obligation  of  the  Sat- 
urday Sabbath  on  the  ground  that  '  God  himself  directly 
in  the  letter  of  the  text  calls  the  seventh  day  the  Sab- 
bath day,  giving  both  the  names  to  one  and  the  self-same 
day,  as  all  men  know  that  ever  read  the  commandments. ' " " 

One  of  the  most  eminent  Sabbatarian  ministers 
of  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  was 
Francis  Bampfield.  He  was  originally  a  clergy- 
man of  the  church  of  England.  The  Baptist 
historian,  Crosby,  speaks  of  him  thus : — 

' '  But  being  utterly  unsatisfied  in  his  conscience  with 
the  conditions  of  conformity,  he  took  his  leave  of  his 
sorrowful  and  weeping  congregation  in  .  ,  .  1662,  and 
was  quickly  after  imprisoned  for  worshiping  God  in  his 
own  family.  So  soon  was  his  unshaken  loyalty  to  the 
king  forgotten,  .  .  .  that  he  was  more  frequently  im- 
prisoned and  exposed  to  greater  hardshii^s  for  his  noncon- 
formity, than  most  other  dissenters."^ 

Of  his  imprisonment,  Neale  says : — 

''After  the  act  of  uniformity,  he  continued  preaching 
as  he  had  opportunity  in  private,  till  he  was  imprisoned 
for  five  days  and  nights,  with  twenty-five  of  his  hearers 
in  one  room  .  .  .  where  they  spent  their  time  in  re- 
ligious exercises,  but  after  some  time  he  was  released. 
Soon  after,  he  was  apprehended  again  and  lay  nine  years 

iCox,  vol.  i.  p.  2fi8  ;  vol.  ii.  p.  10.  -Id.  vol.  ii.  p.  35. 

s  Hist.  English  Baptists,  vol.  i.  pp.  3G.'),  SfiC. 


4SS  IIISTORV    OF    THE    SALIBATII. 

ill  Dorchester  jail,  though  lie  was  a  person  of  unshaken 
loyalty  to  the  king."^ 

During  his  imprisonment,  he  preached  almost 
every  day,  and  gathered  a  church  even  under  his 
confinement.  And  when  he  was  at  liberty,  he 
ceased  not  to  preach  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  After 
his  release,  he  went  to  London,  where  he  preached 
with  much  success.^  Neale  says  of  his  labors  in 
that  city: — 

'  ^  When  he  resided  in  London  he  formed  a  church  on 
the  principles  of  the  Sabbatarian  Baptists,  at  Pinner's 
hall,  of  which  principles  he  was  a  zealous  asserter.  He 
was  a  celebrated  preacher,  and  a  man  of  serious  piety.  "^ 

On  Feb.  17, 1682,  he  was  arrested  while  preach- 
ing, and  on  March  28,  was  sentenced  to  forfeit  all 
his  goods  and  to  be  imprisoned  in  Newgate  for 
life.  In  consequence  of  the  hardships  which  he 
suffered  in  that  prison,  he  died,  Feb.  16,  1683.-' 
"  Bampfield,*'  says  Wood,  "  dying  in  the  said  pris- 
on of  Newgate  .  .  .  aged  seventy  years,  his 
body  was  .  .  .  followed  with  a  very  great 
company  of  factious  and  schismatical  people  to 
his  grave."  ^     Crosby  says  of  him  : — 

"All  that  knew  him  will  acknowledge  that  he  was  a 
man  of  great  piety.  And  he  would  in  all  probability 
have  preserved  the  same  character,  Avitli  respect  to  his 
learning  and  judgment,  had  it  not  been  for  his  opinion 
in  two  points,  viz.,  that  infants  ought  not  to  be  baptized, 
and  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath  ought  still  to  be  kept.'"^ 

Mr.  Bampfield  published  two  works  in  behalf 
of  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath,  one  in  1672, 

^Hist.  Puritans,  part  2.  chap.  x. 
2  Crosby's  Hist.  Eng.  Baptists,  vol.  i.  pp.  3G6,  307. 
'Hist.   Puritans,  part  2,  chap.  x. 

■•  Calamy's  Ejected  Ministers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  258,  259;  Lewiu'  Sab- 
bath and  Sunday,  pp.  188-100. 

^Wood's  Athenic  Oxonienscy,  vol.   iv.  p.  \-2^-. 
'  (.'ro.^bv,  vol.  i.  p.  G(;7. 


ENGLISH    SABBATH-KEEPERS.  489 

the  other  in  1677.     In  the  first  of  these  he  tlius 
sets  forth  the  doctrine  of  the  Sabbath : — 

"  The  law  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  was  given  be- 
fore the  law  was  proclaimed  at  Sinai,  even  from  the  crea- 
tion, given  to  Adam,  .  .  .  and  in  him  to  all  the 
world/  ....  The  Lord  Christ's  obedience  unto  this 
fourth  word  in  observing  in  his  lifetime  the  seventh  day 
as  a  weekly  Sabbath  day,  .  .  .  and  no  other  day  of 
the  week  as  such,  is  a  part  of  that  perfect  righteousness 
which  every  sound  believer  doth  apply  to  himself  in  or- 
der to  his  being  justified  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and  every 
such  person  is  to  conform  unto  Christ  in  all  the  acts  of 
his  obedience  to  the  ten  words. "  " 

His  brother,  Mr.  Thomas  Bamplield,  who  had 
been  speaker  in  one  of  Cromwell's  parliaments, 
wrote  also  in  behalf  of  seventh -day  observance, 
and  was  imprisoned  for  his  religious  principles 
in  Ilchester  jail.^  About  the  time  of  Mr.  Bamp- 
lield's  first  imprisonment,  severe  persecution  arose 
against  the  Sabbath-keepers  in  London.  Crosby 
thus  bears  testimony  : — 

"It  was  about  this  time  [a.  d.  1661],  that  a  congre- 
gation of  Baptists  holding  the  seventh  day  as  a  Sabbath, 
being  assembled  at  their  meeting-house  in  Bull-stake  al- 
ley, the  doors  being  open,  about  three  o'clock  p.  m.  [Oct. 
19],  whilst  Mr.  John  James  was  preaching,  one  Justice 
Chard,  with  Mr.  Wood,  an  headborough,  came  into  the 
meeting-place.  Wood  commanded  him  in  the  king's  name 
to  be  silent  and  come  down,  having  spoken  treason 
against  the  king.  But  Mr.  James,  taking  little  or  no 
notice  thereof,  proceeded  in  his  work.  The  headborough 
came  nearer  to  him  in  the  middle  of  the  meeting-place 
and  commanded  him  again  in  the  king's  name  to  come 
down  or  else  he  would  pull  him  down  ;  whereupon  the 
disturbance  grew  so  great  that  he  could  not  proceed."  * 


1  Ex.  16  :  23  ;  Gen.  2  :  ;). 

2  Judgment  for  the  Observation  of  the  Jewish  or  Seventh-day 
Sabbath,  pp.  6-8,  1G72. 

•"•  Calamy,  vol.  2,  ]).   2o!'.  ^  dnpln-,  vol.   2.  pp.    IHo  IM. 

S.a.l-ath  Hist  .rv.  ;5t> 


41M)  inSTOKY    OF    THi:    SAliHATlI. 

The  otticer  having  pulled  him  down  from  the 
pulpifc,  led  him  away  to  the  court  under  a  strong 
guard.  Mr.  Utter  continues  this  narrative  as 
follows : — 

"Mr.  James  was  himself  examined  and  committed  to 
Newgate,  on  the  testimony  of  several  profligate  wit- 
nesses, who  accused  him  of  speaking  treasonable  words 
against  the  king.  His  trial  took  place  about  a  month 
afterward,  at  which  he  conducted  himself  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  create  much  sympathy.  He  was,  however,  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged,  drawn  and  quartered.^  This  awful 
sentence  did  not  dismay  him  in  the  least.  He  calmly 
said,  '  Blessed  be  God  ;  whom  man  condemneth,  God 
justifieth.'  While  he  lay  in  prison,  under  sentence  of 
death,  many  persons  of  distinction  visited  him,  who  were 
greatly  aflected  by  his  piety  and  resignation,  and  offered 
to  exert  themselves  to  secure  his  pardon.  But  he  seems 
to  have  had  little  hope  of  their  success.  Mrs.  James,  by 
advice  of  her  friends,  twice  presented  petitions  to  the 
king  [Charles  II.],  setting  forth  the  innocence  of  her 
husband,  the  character  of  the  witnesses  against  him,  and 
entreating  His  Majesty  to  grant  a  pardon.  In  both  in- 
stances she  was  repulsed  with  scoffs  and  ridicule.  At  the 
scaffold,  on  the  day  of  his  execution,  Mr.  James  ad- 
dressed the  assembly  in  a  very  noble  and  affecting  man- 
ner. Having  finished  his  address,  and  kneeling  down,  he 
thanked  God  for  covenant  mercies,  and  for  conscious 
innocence ;  he  prayed  for  the  witnesses  against  him,  for 
the  executioner,  for  the  peojjle  of  God,  for  the  removal 
of  divisions,  for  the  coming  of  Christ,  for  the  spectators, 
and  for  himself,  that  he  might  enjoy  a  sense  of  God's  fa- 
vor and  presence,  and  an  entrance  into  glory.  When  he 
had  ended,  the  executioner  said,  '  The  Lord  receive  your 
soul;'  to  which  Mr.  James  replied,  'I  thank  thee.'  A 
friend  observing  to  him,  'This  is  a  happy  day,'  he  an- 
swered, *I  bless  God  it  is.'  Then  having  thanked  the 
sheriff  for  his  courtesy,  he  said,  '  Father,  into  thy  hands 
I  commit  my  spirit.'  .  .  .  After  he  was  dead  his 
heart  was  taken  out  and  burned,  his  quarters  were  af- 

'  When  asked  what  he  had  to  .say  why  sentence  should  not  bo 
prnnouneed,  he  Haid  he  would  leave  with  them  these  scriptures: 
.It^r.  -.'O  :  14,  i:.;  Ps.  110  :  i:.. 


KNCJLISH    SABBATH-KEKPERS.  491 

fixed  to  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  his  head  was  set  up  in 
White  chapel  on  a  pole  opposite  to  the  alley  in  which  his 
meeting-house  stood.  "^ 

Such  was  the  experience  of  English  Sabbath- 
keepers  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  cost  some- 
thing to  obey  the  fourth  commandment  in  such 
times  as  those.  The  laws  of  England  during  that 
century  were  very  oppressive  to  all  Dissenters, 
and  bore  exceedingly  hard  upon  the  Sabbath- 
keepers.  But  God  raised  up  able  men,  eminent 
for  piety,  to  defend  his  truth  during  those  troub- 
lous times,  and,  if  need  be,  to  seal  their  testimony 
with  their  blood.  In  the  seventeenth  century, 
eleven  churches  of  Sabbatarians  flourished  in 
England,  while  many  scattered  Sabbath-keepers 
were  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of  that  king- 
dom. Now,  but  three  of  these  churches  are  in 
existence !  And  only  remnants,  even  of  these, 
remain  ■ 

To  what  cause  shall  we  assign  this  painful 
fact  ?  It  is  not  because  their  adversaries  were 
able  to  confute  their  doctrine ;  for  the  contro- 
versial works  on  both  sides  still  remain,  and 
speak  for  themselves.  It  is  not  that  they  lacked 
men  of  piety  and  of  learning;  for  God  gave 
them  these,  especially  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Nor  is  it  that  fanaticism  sprang  up  and 
disgraced  the  cause ;  for  there  is  no  record  of 
anything  of  this  kind.  They  were  cruelly  per- 
secuted, but  the  period  of  their  persecution  was 
that  of  their  greatest  prosperity.  Like  Moses' 
bush,  they  stood  unconsumed  in  the  burning  fii-e. 
The  prostration  of  the  Sabbath  cause  in  England 
is  due  to  none  of  these  things. 

1  Manual,  &c.  pp.  21-23. 


492  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

The  Sabbath  was  wounded  in  the  house  of  its 
own  friends.  They  took  upon  themselves  the 
responsibility,  after  a  time,  of  making  the  Sab- 
bath of  no  practical  importance,  and  of  treating  its 
violation  as  no  very  serious  transgression  of  the 
law  of  God.  Doubtless  they  hoped  to  win  men 
to  Christ  and  his  truth  by  this  course ;  but,  in- 
stead of  this,  they  simply  lowered  the  standard 
of  divine  truth  into  the  dust.  The  Sabbath- 
keeping  ministers  assumed  the  pastoral  care  of 
first-day  churches,  in  some  cases  as  their  sole 
charge,  in  others,  they  did  this  in  connection 
with  the  oversight  of  Sabbatarian  churches. 
The  result  need  surprise  no  one ;  as  these  Sab- 
bath-keeping ministers  and  churches  said  to  all 
men,  in  thus  acting,  that  the  fourth  command- 
ment might  be  broken  with  impunity,  the  peo- 
ple took  them  at  their  word.  Mr.  Crosby,  a 
first-day  historian,  sets  this  matter  in  a  clear 
light  :— 

"  If  the  seventli  day  ought  to  be  observed  as  tlie  Chris- 
tian Sabbath,  then  all  congregations  that  observe  the  first 
day  as  svich  must  be  Sabbath-breakers.  ...  I  must 
leave  those  gentlemen  on  the  contrary  side  to  their  own 
sentiments ;  and  to  vindicate  the  practice  of  becoming 
I)astors  to  a  people  whom  in  their  conscience  they  must 
believe  to  be  breakers  of  the  Sabbath."^ 

Doubtless  there  have  been  noble  exceptions  to 
this  course ;  but  the  body  of  English  Sabbata- 
rians for  many  years  have  failed  to  faithfully 
discharge  the  high  trust  committed  to  them. 

» Crosby's  Hist.  Eng.  Bapt.  vol.  iii.  pp.  18S,  130. 


THE    SABBATH    IX    AMERICA.  493 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


THE   SABBATH   IN   AMERICA. 

The  first  Sabbath-keeping  church  in  America — Names  of  its 
members — Origin  of  the  second — Organization  of  the  Sev- 
enth-day Baptist  General  Conference — Statistics  of  the 
Denomination  at  that  time — Nature  of  its  organization 
— Present  Statistics — Educational  facilities — Missionary 
work — The  American  Sabbath  Tract  Society — Responsi- 
bility for  the  light  of  the  Sabbath— The  German  S.  D. 
Baptists  of  Pennsylvania — Reference  to  Sabbath-keepers 
in  Hungary — In  Siberia — The  Seventh-day  Adventists — 
Their  origin — Labors  of  Joseph  Bates — Of  James  White — 
The  Publishing  Association — Systematic  Benevolence — 
The  work  of  the  preachers  mainly  in  new  fields — Organ- 
ization of  the  S.  D,  Adventists — Statistics — Peculiarities  of 
their  faith— Their  object— The  S.  D.  Adventists  of  Switz- 
erland— Why  the  Sabbath  is  of  priceless  value  to  mankind 
— The  nations  of  the  saved  observe  the  Sabbath  in  the  new 
earth. 

The  first  Sabbatarian  church  in  America  orig- 
inated at  Newport,  R.  I.  The  first  Sabbath- 
keeper  in  America  was  Stephen  Mumford,  who 
left  London  three  years  after  the  martyrdom  of 
John  James,  and  forty-four  years  after  the  land- 
ing of  the  pilgrim  fathers  at  Plymouth.  Mr. 
Mumford,  it  appears,  came  as  a  missionary  from 
the  English  Sabbath-keepers.^  Mr.  Isaac  Backus, 
the  historian  of  the  early  New  England  Baptists, 
makes  the  followinoj  record  : — 

'^Stephen  Mumford  came  over  from  London  in  1664, 
and  brought  the  opinion  with  him  that  the  whole  of  the 
ten  commandments,  as  they  were  delivered  from  Mount 

i"When  the  London  Seventh-day  Baptists,  in  1664,  sent 
Stephen  Mumford  to  America,  and  in  167o  sent  Eld.  WMlliam 
Gibson,  they  did  as  much,  in  proportion  to  their  ability,  as  had 
been  done  b)^  any  society  for  propagating  the  gospel  in  foreign 
parts." — Seventh-da//  Baptist  j/eino?ial,  vol.  i.  p.  43. 


494  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Sinai,  were  moral  and  immutable  ;  and  that  it  was  the 
Antichristian  power  which  thought  to  change  times  and 
laws,  that  changed  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  Several  members  of  the  first 
church  in  Newport  embraced  this  sentiment,  and  yet 
continued  with  the  church  for  some  years,  until  two  men 
and  their  wives  who  had  so  done,  turned  back  to  the 
keeping  of  the  first  day  again.  "^ 

Mr.  Mumford,  on  his  arrival,  went  earnestly  to 
work  to  convert  men  to  the  observance  of  the 
fourth  commandment,  as  we  infer  from  the  fol- 
lowing record : — 

''Stephen Mumford,  the  first  Sabbath-keeper  in  Amer- 
ica, came  from  London  in  1664.  Tacy  Hubbard  com- 
menced keeping  the  Sabbath,  March  11,  1665.  Samuel 
Hubbard  commenced  April  1,  1665.  Rachel  Langworthy, 
January  15,  1666.  Roger  Baxter,  April  15,  1666,  and 
William  Hiscox,  April  28,  1666.  These  were  the  first  Sab- 
bath-keepers in  America.  A  controversy,  lasting  several 
years,  sprung  up  between  them  and  members  of  the 
church.  They  desired  to  retain  their  connection  with 
the  church,  but  were,  at  last,  compelled  to  withdraw, 
that  they  might  peaceably  enjoy  and  keep  God's  holy 
day.""     [Baxter  is  Baster  in  the  S.  D.  B.  Memorial.] 

Though  Mr.  Mumford  faithfully  taught  the 
truth,  he  seems  to  have  cherished  the  ideas  of 
the  English  Sabbatarians,  that  it  was  possible  for 
first-day  and  seventh-day  observers  to  walk  to- 
gether in  church  fellowship.  Had  the  first-day 
people  been  of  the  same  mind,  the  light  of  the 
Sabbath  would  have  been  extinguished  within  a 
few  years,  as  the  history  of  English  Sabbath- 
keepers  clearly  proves.  But,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  the  danger  was  averted  by  the  opposition 
which  these  commandment-keepers  had  to  en- 
counter. 

'  Ch.  Hist,  of  X.  England  from  1783  to  1700,  chap.  xi.  .sect.  10. 
Mlist.  ofthc  S.  I).  15:ipt.  (u>n.  Couf.  by  Jas.  Ikiilcy,  pp.  2:37,  tiSs. 


THE    SABBATH    IN    AMERICA.  495 

Besides  the  persons  above  enumerated,  four 
others  embraced  the  Sabbath  in  1666,  but  in 
1668  they  renounced  it.  These  four  were  also 
members  of  the  first-day  Baptist  church  of  New- 
port. Though  the  Sabbath-keepers  who  retained 
their  integrity  thought  that  they  might  lawfully 
commune  with  the  members  of  the  church  who 
were  fully  persuaded  to  observe  the  first  day,  yet 
they  felt  otherwise  with  respect  to  these  who 
had  clearly  seen  the  Sabbath,  and  had  for  a  time 
observed  it,  and  then  apostatized  from  it.  These 
persons  "  both  wrote  and  spoke  against  it,  which 
so  grieved  them  that  they  could  not  sit  down  at 
the  table  of  the  Lord  with  them,  nor  with  the 
church  because  of  them."  But  as  they  were 
members  of  a  first-day  church,  and  had  "no 
power  to  deal  with  them  as  of  themselves  with- 
out the  help  of  the  church,"  they  "  found  them- 
selves barred  as  to  proceeding  with  them,  as  be- 
ing but  private  brethren.  So  they  concluded 
not  to  bring  the  case  to  the  church  to  judge  of 
the  fact,  viz.,  in  turning  from  the  observation  of 
the  seventh  day,  being  contrary-minded  as  to 
that."  They  therefore  sent  to  the  London  Sab- 
bath-keepers for  advice,  and  in  the  mean  time 
i-efrained  from  communing  with  the  church. 

Dr.  Edward  Stennet  wrote  them  in  behalf  of 
the  London  Sabbath-keepers :  "  If  the  church 
will  hold  communion  with  these  apostates  from 
the  truth,  you  ought  then  to  desire  to  be  fairly 
dismissed  from  the  church ;  which  if  the  church 
refuse,  you  ought  to  withdraw  yourselves."^  They 
decided,  however,  not  to  leave  the  church.  But 
they  told  "  the  church  publicly  that  they  could 

1  Scvcnth-day  Baptist  ^Icuiorial,  vol.  i.  pp.  liV,  '2>^,  '-".'. 


i;)G  HISTORY  or  tjik  ;;AiiRATir. 

not  have  comfortable  communion  with  those  four 
persons  that  had  sinned."  "  And  thus  for  several 
months  they  walked  with  little  or  no  offense  from 
the  church ;  after  which  the  leading  or  minister- 
ing brethren  began  to  declare  themselves  concern- 
ing the  ten  precepts."  Mr.  Tory  "  declared  the 
law  to  be  done  away."  Mr.  Luker  and  Mr.  Clarke 
"  made  it  their  work  to  preach  the  non-observa- 
tion of  the  law,  day  after  day."  But  the  Sab- 
bath-keepers replied  "  that  the  ten  precepts  were 
still  as  holy,  just,  good,  and  spiritual,  as  ever." 
Mr.  Tory  "  with  some  unpleasant  words  said  'that 
their  tune  was  only  the  fourth  precept/  to  which 
they  answered,  'that  the  whole  ten  precepts  were 
of  equal  force  with  them,  and  that  they  did  not 
plead  for  one  without  the  other.'  And  they  for 
several  years,  went  on  with  the  church  in  a  halv- 
ish  kind  of  fellowship."  ^ 

Mr.  Bailey  thus  states  the  result : — 

''At  tlie  time  of  their  change  of  sentiment  and  practice, 
[respecting  the  Bible  SahbathJ,  they  had  no  intention  of 
establisliing  a  church  with  this  distinctive  feature.  God, 
evidentlj^,  liad  a  different  mission  for  them,  and  brought 
them  to  it,  through  the  severe  trial  of  persecution.  They 
were  forced  to  leave  the  fellowsliip  of  the  Baptist  church, 
or  abandon  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  their  God."- 

"  These  left  the  Baptist  church  on  December  7,  1671."' 
"  On  the  23d  of  December,  just  sixteen  days  after  with- 
drawing from  the  Baptist  church,  they  covenanted  to- 
gether in  a  church  organization."^ 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  first  Sabbath-keep- 
ing church  in  America.^"'     The  second   of  these 

'  Records  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Newport,  quoted  in  the 
S.  D.  Baptist  Memorial,  vol.  i.  pp.  28-30. 

2  Bailey's  Hist.  pp.  ;\  10.  aid.  p.  237.  "Id.  p.  238. 

"1  Manual  of  the  S.  I).  Baptists.  i)p.  :]9,  4o  ;  Backus,  chap.  xi. 
sect.  10. 


TIIK    SACnATII    IN    AMERICA.  497 

churches  owes  its  origin  to  this  circumstance : 
About  the  year  1700,  Edmund  Dunham  of  Piscat- 
away,  N.  J.,  reproved  a  person  for  labor  on  Sun- 
day. He  was  asked  for  his  autliority  from  the 
Scriptures.  On  searching  for  this,  he  became  sat- 
isfied that  the  seventh  day  is  the  only  weekly 
Sabbath  in  the  Bible,  and  began  to  observe  it. 

"  Soon  after,  others  followed  his  example,  and  in  1707 
a  Seventh-day  Baptist  church  was  organized,  with  seven- 
teen members.  Edmund  Dunham  was  chosen  pastor  and 
sent  to  Rhode  Island  to  receive  ordination."^ 

The  S.  D.  Baptist  General  Conference  was  or- 
ganized in  1802.  At  its  first  annual  session,  it 
included  in  its  organization  eight  churches,  nine 
ordained  ministers,  and  1130  members.^  The 
Conference  v^as  organized  with  only  advisory  pow- 
ers, the  individual  churches  retaining  the  matters 
of  discipline  and  church  government  in  their  own 
hands.^  The  Conference  now  embraces  some 
eighty  churches,  and  about  8000  members.  These 
churches  are  found  in  most  of  the  northern  and 
western  States,  and  are  divided  into  five  associa- 
tions, which,  however,  have  no  legislative  nor  dis- 
ciplinary power  over  the  churches  which  compose 
them.  There  are,  bslono^inor  to  the  denomination, 
five  academies,  one  college,  "and  a  university 
with  academic,  collegiate,  mechanical,  and  theo- 
logical departments  in  operation."^  The  S.  D. 
Baptist  missionary  society  sustains  several  home 
missionaries  who  labor  principally  on  the  western 
and  southern  borders  of  the  denomination.  They 
have  within  a  few  years  past  met  with  a  good 
deorree  of  success  in  this  work.     It  has  also  a 

o 

1  Hist.  S.  D.  Baptist  Geu.  Conf.  pp.  15,  238. 

2  Id.  pp.  413-55.  3  Id.  pp.  oT,  58,  02,  74,  82. 
<  Sabbath  and  Sunday,  p.  232. 


498  HISTORY    OF    THE    JSAliBATU. 

missionary  station  at  Shanghai,  China,  and  a 
small  church  there  of  faithful  Christians. 

The  American  Sabbath  Tract  Society  is  the 
publishing  agency  of  the  denomination.  Its  head- 
quarters are  at  Alfred  Center,  N.  Y.  It  publishes 
the  Sabbath  Recorder,  the  organ  of  the  S.  D.  Bap- 
tists, and  it  also  publishes  a  series  of  valuable 
works  relating  to  the  Sabbath  and  the  law  of 
God. 

During  the  two  hundred  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  organization  of  the  first  Sabba- 
tarian church  in  America,  God  has  raised  up 
among  this  people  men  of  eminent  talent  and 
moral  worth.  He  has  also  in  providential  Avays 
called  attention  to  the  sacred  trust  which  he  so 
long  since  confided  to  the  S.  D.  Baptists,  and 
which  they  have  been  slow  to  realize  in  its  im- 
mense importance. 

Among  those  converted  to  the  Sabbath  through 
the  agency  of  this  people,  the  name  of  J.  W. 
Morton  is  particularly  worthy  of  honorable  men- 
tion. He  was  sent  in  1847  a  missionary  to  the 
island  of  Hayti  by  the  Reformed  Presbyterians. 
Here  he  came  in  contact  with  Sabbatarian  publi- 
cations, and  after  a  serious  examination  became 
satisfied  that  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord.  As  an  honest  man,  what  he  saw  to 
be  truth  he  immediately  obeyed,  and  returning 
home  to  be  tried  for  his  heresy,  was  summarily 
expelled  from  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church 
without  being  suffered  to  state  the  reasons  which 
liad  governed  his  conduct.  He  has  given  to  the 
world  a  valuable  work,  entitled,  "  Vindication  of 
the  True  Sabbath,"  in  which  his  experience  is  re- 
lated, and  his  reasons  for  observing  the  seventh 
day  set  forth  witli  great  force  and  clearness. 


THE    SABBATH    IX    AMERICA.  499 

The  S.  D.  Baptists  do  not  lack  men  of  educa- 
tion and  of  talent,  and  they  have  ample  means  in 
their  possession  with  which  to  sustain  the  cause 
of  God.  If  in  time  past  they  have  not  fully  re- 
alized that  they  were  debtors  to  all  mankind  be- 
cause of  the  great  truth  which  God  committed  to 
their  trust,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they 
are  now  t(j  some  extent  awakening  to  this  vast 
indebtedness.  ^ 

There  is  also  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  a 
small  body  of  German  S.  D.  Baptists  found  in  the 
counties  of  Lancaster,  York,  Franklin,  and  Bed- 
ford, and  in  the  central  and  western  parts  of  the 
State.  They  originated  in  1728  from  the  teach- 
ing of  Conrad  Beissel,  a  native  of  Germany. 
They  practice  trine  immersion,  and  the  washing 
of  feet,  and  observe  open  communion.  They  en- 
courage celibacy,  but  make  it  obligatory  upon 
none.  Even  those  who  have  chosen  this  manner 
of  life  are  at  liberty  to  marry  if  at  any  time  they 
choose  so  to  do.  They  established  and  success- 
fully maintained  a  Sabbath-school  at  Ephrata, 
their  head-quarters,  forty  years  before  Robert 
Raikes  had  introduced  the  system  of  Sunday- 
schools.  This  people  have  suffered  much  perse- 
cution because  of  their  observance  of  the  seventh 
day,  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  being  particularly 
oppressive  toward  Sabbatarians.^  The  German 
S.  D.  Baptists  do  not  belong  to  the  S.  D.  Baptist 
General  Conference. 

'  Much  interesting  matter  pertaining  to  the  Seventh-day  Bap- 
tists of  America  may  be  found  in  Uiter's  Manual  of  the  S.  1). 
Baptists  ;  Bailey's  Hist,  of  the  S.  D.  Bapt.  Gen.  Conf.  ;  Lewis's 
Sabbath  and  Sunday,  and  in  the  S.  D.  B.  Memorial. 

2Kupp's  History  of  all  the  Religious  Denominations  in  the 
United  States,  pp.  l<"y-l"-'3,  second  edition  :  Bailey's  Hist.  Gen. 
Conf.  pp.  'J').j-2-")S. 


;')(»()  iiisTOKv  OP  Tin:  sadbath. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  fact  that  Sabbath- 
keepers  are  rmmerous  in  Russia,  in  Poland,  and 
in  Turkey.  We  find  the  following  statement  re- 
specting Sabbath -keepers  in  Hungary : — 

"  A  congregation  of  seventh-day  Christians  in  Hunga- 
ry, being  refused  tolerance  by  the  laws,  has  embraced  Ju- 
daism, in  order  to  be  allowed  to  exist  in  connection  with 
one  of  the  'received  religions.'"^ 

The  probability  is  that  as  the  laws  of  the  Aus- 
trian Empire  bear  very  heavily  upon  all  religious 
bodies  not  belonging  to  some  one  of  the  tolerated 
sects  or  orders,  these  "  Seventh-day  Christians " 
on  "  being  refused  tolerance  "  in  their  own  name, 
secured  the  privilege  of  observing  the  seventh 
day  by  allowing  their  doctrine  to  be  classed  by 
the  civil  authorities  under  the  head  of  Judaism, 
and  so  bringing  themselves  under  the  tolerance 
accorded  to  the  "  received  religions."  We  do  not 
say  that  this  was  right,  even  as  a  technicality, 
but  it  is  evidently  the  extent  of  what  they  did. 
There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  they  abjured 
Christ.  We  also  learn  that  there  are  Sabbath- 
keepers  in  the  north  of  Asia : — 

"There  is  a  sect  of  Greek  Christians  in  Siberia  who 
keep  tlie  Jewish  Sabbath  (Saturday).  Such  sects  already 
exist  in  the  United  States,  in  Germany,  and  Ave  believe  in 
England.  "- 

The  Sabbath  was  first  introduced  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Advent  people  at  Washington,  N.  H. 
A  faithful  Seventh-day  Baptist  sister,  Mrs.  Ra- 
chel D.  Preston,  from  the  State  of  New  York, 
liaving  removed  to  this  place,  brought  with  her 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.     Here  she  became  in- 


>  New  York  Independent,  March  18,  1869. 
'^  iScmi-  Weekly  Tribune,  May  4,  18(Jli. 


THE    SABBATH    IN    AMERICA.  501 

terested  in  the  doctrine  of  the  glorious  advent  of 
the  Saviour  at  hand.  Being  instructed  in  this 
subject  by  the  Advent  people,  she  in  turn  in- 
structed them  in  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
as  early  as  1844,  nearly  the  entire  church  in  that 
place,  consisting  of  about  forty  persons,  became 
observers  of  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.^  The  old- 
est body  of  Sabbath-keepers  among  the  Seventh- 
day  Adventists  is  therefore  at  Washington,  N.  IT. 
Its  present  number  is  small,  for  it  has  been  thinned 
by  emigration  and  by  the  ravages  of  death ;  but 
there  still  remains  a  small  company  to  bear  wit- 
ness to  this  ancient  truth  of  the  Bible. 

From  this  place,  several  Advent  ministers  re- 
ceived the  Sabbath  truth  during  the  year  1844. 
One  of  these  was  Eld.  T.  M.  Preble,  who  has  the 
honor  of  tii-st  bringing  this  great  truth  before 
the  Adventists  through  the  medium  of  the  press. 
His  essay  w^as  dated  Feb.  13,  1845.  He  pre- 
sented briefly  the  claims  of  the  Bible  Sabbath, 
and  showed  that  it  was  not  changed  by  the  Sav- 
iour, but  was  changed  by  the  great  apostasy. 
He  then  said  : — 

"  Thus  we  see  Dan.  7  :  25,  fulfilled,  the  little  horn 
changmg  'times  and  laws,'     Therefore  it  appears  to  me 


1  This  sister  was  born  at  Vernon,  Yt.  Her  maiden  name  was 
Rachel  D.  Harris.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  she  Avas  converted 
and  soon  after  joined  the  Methodist  church.  After  her  marriage, 
she  removed  with  her  husband  to  central  New  York.  There,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-eight,  she  became  an  observer  of  the  Bible  Sab- 
bath. The  Methodist  minister,  her  pastor,  did  what  he  could  to 
turn  her  from  the  Sabbath,  but  finally  told  her  she  might  keep  it 
if  she  would  not  leave  them.  But  she  was  faithful  to  her  convic- 
tions of  duty  and  united  with  the  first  Seventh-day  Baptist  church 
of  Yerona,  "Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.  Her  first  husband  bore  the  name 
of  Oaks  ;  her  second,  that  of  Preston.  She  and  her  daughter,  De- 
light Oaks,  were  members  of  the  first  Yerona  church  at  the  time 
of  their  removal  to  Washington,  X.  IT.  The  mother  died  Feb.  1, 
]si;s  ;  the  daugliter,  several  years  cailicr. 


r)02  uisToiiv  OK  Tin:  saijhath. 

that  all  who  keep  the  first  day  for  the  Sabbath,  are  Pope's 
Sunday-keepers,  ancl  God's  Sabbath  breakers."^ 

Within  a  few  months  many  persons  began  to 
observe  the  Sabbath  as  the  result  of  the  light 
thus  shed  on  their  pathway.  Eld.  J.  B.  Cook, 
a  man  of  decided  talent  as  a  preacher  and  a 
writer,  was  one  of  these  early  converts  to  the 
Sabbath.  Elders  Preble  and  Cook  were  at  this 
time  in  the  full  vigor  of  their  mental  powers, 
and  were  possessed  of  talent  and  a  reputation  for 
piety,  which  gave  them  great  influence  among 
the  Advent] sts  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath.  These 
men  were  called  in  the  providence  of  God  to  fill 
an  important  place  in  the  work  of  Sabbath  reform. 

But  both  of  them,  while  preaching  and  writing 
in  its  behalf,  committed  the  fatal  error  of  making 
it  of  no  practical  importance.  They  had  apparent- 
ly the  same  fellowship  for  those  who  rejected  the 
Sabbath  that  they  had  for  those  who  observed  it. 
Such  a  course  of  action  produced  its  natural  re- 
sult. After  two  or  three  years  of  this  kind  of 
Sabbath  observance,  eacli  of  these  men  aposta- 
tized from  it,  and  thenceforward  used  what  in- 
fluence they  possessed  in  warring  against  the 
fourth  commandment.  Tlie  larger  part  of  those 
who  embraced  the  Sabbath  from  their  labors 
were  not  sufficiently  impressed  with  its  impor- 
tance to  become  settled  and  grounded  in  its 
weighty  evidences,  and,  after  a  brief  period, 
they  turned  back  from  its  observance.  But 
enough  had  been  done  to  excite  bitter  opposition 
toward  the  Sabbath  on  the  part  of  many  Ad- 

'Eld.  Preble's  articls  appeared  in  the  Hope  of  hrael  oi  Feb. 
28, 1^45,  publislied  at  Portland,  Maine.  This  article  was  reprinted 
in  tlie  Advent  Jieview  ofAuc:.  23,  1870.  The  article,  as  rewritten 
by  Kid.  Preble  and  published  in  tract  form,  was  also  printed  iu 
the  lii^vinv  of  Dec.  -Jl,  lyiVJ. 


tup:  sabi>>a'';ii  in  America.  503 

ventists,  and  to  bring  out  the  ingenious  and 
plausible  arguments  by  which  men  attempt  to 
prove  that  God  has  abolished  his  own  sacred  law. 

Such  was  the  fruit  of  their  course,  and  such 
the  condition  of  things  at  the  time  of  their  de- 
fection. But  the  result  of  their  plan  of  action 
taught  the  Advent  Sabbath-keepers  a  lesson  of 
value,  which  they  have  never  forgotten.  They 
learned  that  the  fourth  commandment  must  be 
treated  as  a  part  of  the  moral  law,  if  men  are 
ever  to  be  led  to  its  sacred  observance. 

Eld.  Preble's  first  article  in  behalf  of  the  Sab- 
bath was  the  means  of  calling  the  attention  of 
our  venerable  brother,  Joseph  Bates,  to  this  di- 
vine institution.  He  soon  became  convinced  of 
its  oblio'ation,  and  at  once  bes^an  to  observe  it. 
He  had  acted  quite  a  prominent  part  in  the  Ad- 
vent movement  of  1843-4,  and  now,  with  self- 
sacrificing  zeal,  he  took  hold  of  the  despised  Sab- 
bath truth  to  set  it  before  his  fellow-men.  He 
did  not  do  it  in  the  half-way  manner  of  Elders 
Preble  and  Cook,  but  as  a  man  thoroughly  in 
earnest  and  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  his 
subject. 

The  subject  of  the  heavenly  Sanctuary  began 
about  this  time  to  interest  many  Adventists,  and 
especially  Eld.  Bates.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to 
see  that  the  central  object  of  that  Sanctuary  is 
the  ark  of  God.  He  also  called  attention  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  third  angel  relative  to  God's 
commandments.  He  girded  on  the  armor  to  lay 
it  down  only  when  his  work  should  be  accom- 
plished. He  has  been  instrumental  in  leading 
many  to  the  observance  of  the  commandments  of 
God  and  the  faith  of  Jesus,  and  few  who  have 


504  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

received  the  Sabbath  from  his  teaching  have 
apostatized  from  it.^ 

It  was  but  a  few  months  after  Eld.  Bates,  that 
our  esteemed  and  efficient  brother,  Eld.  James 
White,  also  embraced  the  Sabbath.  He  had  la- 
bored with  much  success  in  the  great  Advent 
movement,  and  he  now  entered  heartily  into  the 
work  of  Sabbath  reform.  Uniting  with  Eld. 
Bates  in  the  proclamation  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
advent  and  the  Sabbath  as  connected  together 
in  the  Sanctuary  and  the  message  of  the  third 
angel,  he  has,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  accom- 
plished great  results  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath. 

The  publishing  interests  of  the  Seventh-day 
Adventists  originated  through  his  instrumen- 
tality. He  began  the  work  of  publishing  in 
1849,  without  resources,  and  with  very  few 
friends,  but  with  much  toil,  self-sacrifice,  and 
anxious  care;  and  with  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
his  eftbrts,  he  has  been  the  means  of  establishing 
an  efficient  office  of  publication,  and  of  dissem- 
inating many  important  works  throughout  our 
country,  and,  to  some  extent,  to  other  nations 
also.  The  publication  of  the  Advent  Revieiv 
and  Herald  of  the  Sabbath,  the  organ  of  the 
Seventh-day  Adventists,  was  commenced  by  him 
in  1850.  For  most  of  the  years  of  its  existence, 
he  has  served  as  one  of  its  editors ;  and  for  £i\ 
its  earlier  years,  he  was  both  publisher  and  sole 
editor.  During  this  time,  he  has  also  labored 
with  energy  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

The  wants  of  the  cause  demanding  an  enlarge- 
ment of  capital  and  more  extensive  operations, 
to  this  end  an  Association  was  incorporated  in 
the  city  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  May  3,  18G1, 

'  ll«-  I'-l!  :i«<I.M-i,  M.-ir.-li  r.'.  Is7-?.  in  ili.>  .-i-tii  i,.|  li  vi.r  ..fliis  ii-^.-. 


THE    SABBATH    IN    AMERICA.  505 

under  the  name  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventist 
Publishing  Association.  This  Association  owns 
three  commodious  publishing  houses,  with  engine, 
power  presses,  and  all  the  fixtures  necessary  for 
doing  an  extensive  business.  There  are  about 
fifty  persons  constantly  employed  in  this  work 
of  publication.  The  Association  has  a  capital  of 
about  S70,000.  Under  God,  it  owes  its  pros- 
perity to  the  prudent  management  and  untiring 
energy  of  Eld.  James  White. 

The  Advent  Revieiu  has  at  the  present  time 
(Nov.,  1873)  a  circulation  of  about  5000  copies. 
The  ToutJis  Instructor,  a  monthly  paper  de- 
signed for  the  children  of  Sabbath-keeping  Ad- 
ventists,  began  to  be  issued  in  1852,  and  has  now 
attained  a  circulation  of  nearly  5000  copies. 

The  Advent  Tidende,  a  Danish  monthly  with 
a  circulation  of  800,  is  published  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  speak  the  Danish  and  Norwegian 
tonofues,  of  whom  a  considerable  number  have 
embraced  the  Sabbath. 

The  S.  D.  Adventists  have  taken  a  strong  in- 
terest in  the  subject  of  hygiene  and  the  laws  of 
health,  and  have  established  a  Health  Institute 
at  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  which  publishes  the 
Health  Reformer,  a  monthly  journal,  magazine 
form,  having  a  circulation  of  nearly  5000  copies. 

Numerous  publications  on  Prophecy,  the  Signs 
of  the  Times,  the  Coming  of  Christ,  the  Sabbath, 
the  Law  of  God,  the  Sanctuary,  &c.,  &c.,  have 
been  issued  w^ithin  the  past  twenty  years,  and 
have  had  an  extensive  circulation,  amounting,  in 
the  aggregate,  to  'many  millions  of  pages. 

The  ordinary  financial  wants  of  the  cause  are 
sustained  by  a  method  of  collecting  means  known 

Sabbath  Histuvy.  33 


506  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

as  Systematic  Benevolence.  By  this  s^^stem,  it  is 
designed  that  each  friend  of  the  cause  shall  pay 
a  certain  sum  weekly  proportioned  to  the  prop- 
erty which  he  possesses.  But  there  is  no  com- 
pulsion in  this  matter.  In  this  manner  the  bur- 
den is  borne  by  all,  so  that  it  rests  heavily  upon 
none ;  and  the  means  needed  for  the  work  flows 
with  a  steady  stream  into  the  treasury  of  the 
several  churches,  and  finally  into  that  of  the 
State  Conferences.  A  settlement  is  instituted 
each  year  at  the  State  Conferences,  in  which  the 
labors,  receipts,  and  expenditures,  of  each  minister 
are  carefully  considered.  Thus  none  are  allowed 
to  waste  means,  and  none  who  are  recognized  as 
called  of  God  to  the  ministry  are  allowed  to  suffer. 

The  churches  sustain  their  meetings  for  the 
most  part  without  the  aid  of  preaching.  They 
raise  means  to  sustain  the  servants  of  Christ,  but 
bid  them  mainly  devote  their  time  and  strength 
to  save  those  who  have  not  the  light  of  these  im- 
portant tiTiths  shining  upon  their  pathway.  So 
they  go  out  everywhere  preaching  the  word  of 
God,  as  his  providence  guides  their  feet.  During 
the  summer  months,  the  work  in  new  fields  is 
caiTied  forward  principally  by  means  of  large 
tents,  which  enable  the  preacher  to  provide  a 
suitable  place  of  worship,  wherever  he  may  think 
it  desirable  to  labor. 

The  Seventh-day  Adventists  have  thirteen 
State  Conferences,  which  assemble  annually  in 
their  respective  States.  Tliese  bear  the  names  of 
Maine,  Vermont,  New  England,  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Missouri  and  Kansas, 
and  California.  These  Conferences  are  designed 
to  meet  the  local  wants  of  the  cause.     There  is 


THE    SABBATH    IN    AMERICA.  507 

also  a  General  Conference,  which  assembles  yearly, 
composed  of  delegates  from  the  State  Conferences. 
This  Conference  takes  the  general  oversight  of 
the  work  in  all  the  State  Conferences,  supplying 
the  more  destitute  with  laborers  as  far  as  possible, 
and  uniting  the  whole  strength  of  the  body  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  work.  It  also  takes 
the  charge  of  missionary  labor  in  those  States 
which  have  no  organized  Conferences. 

There  are  about  fifty  ministers  who  devote 
their  whole  time  to  the  work  of  the  gospel.  There 
is  also  a  considerable  number  who  preach  a  por- 
tion of  the  time  and  devote  the  remainder  to  sec- 
ular labor.  There  are  about  6000  members  in  the 
several  Conference  organizations.  But  such  is  the 
scattered  condition  of  this  people  (for  they  are 
found  in  all  the  northern  States  and  in  several 
of  the  southern),  that  a  very  large  portion  have 
no  connection  with  its  organization.  They  are 
to  be  found  in  single  families  scattered  all  the 
way  from  Maine  to  California  and  Oregon.  The 
Revieio  and  Instructor  constitute,  in  a  great 
number  of  cases,  the  only  preachers  of  their  faith. 

Those  subjects  which  more  especially  interest 
this  people,  are  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  the 
second  personal  advent  of  the  Saviour  as  an 
event  now  near  at  hand,  immortality  through 
Christ  alone,  a  change  of  heart  through  the  op- 
eration of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  of  the  fourth  commandment,  the  divin- 
ity and  mediatorial  work  of  Christ,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  a  holy  character  by  obedience  to 
the  perfect  and  holy  law  of  God.' 

1  For  a  further  knowledge  of  their  views,  see  their  weekly  pa- 

Jicr,  the  Advent  Eeviow  and  Herald  of  the  Sahhath,  published  at 
Jattle  ('reek,  Michif^an,  at  $2.00  per  year,  and  the  list  of  publica- 
tions advertised  in  its  columns. 


")08  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH, 

They  are  very  strict  with  regard  to  tlie  ordi- 
nance of  baptism,  beUeving  not  only  that  it  re- 
quires men  to  be  buried  in  the  watery  grave,  but 
that  even  such  baptism  is  faulty  if  administered 
to  those  who  are  breaking  one  of  the  ten  com- 
mandments. They  also  believe  that  our  Lord's 
direction  in  John  13  should  be  observed  in  con- 
nection with  the  supper. 

They  teach  that  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  set  forth 
in  1  Cor.  12  and  Eph.  4,  were  designed  to  remain 
in  tlie  church  till  the  end  of  time.  They  believe 
that  these  were  lost  in  consequence  of  the  same 
apostasy  that  changed  the  Sabbath.  They  also 
believe  that  in  the  final  restoration  of  the  com- 
mandments by  the  work  of  the  third  angel,  the 
gifts  of  the  Spirit  of  God  are  restored  with  them. 
So  the  remnant  of  the  church,  or  last  generation 
of  its  members,  is  said  to  "keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
Christ."  ^  And  the  angel  of  God  explains  this  by 
saying,  "  The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of 
prophecy."^  The  spirit  of  prophecy  therefore 
has  a  distinct  place  assigned  to  it  in  the  final 
work  of  Sabbath  reform.  Such  are  their  views 
of  this  portion  of  Scripture;  and  their  history 
from  the  beginning  has  been  marked  by  the  in- 
fluence of  this  sacred  gift. 

In  the  face  of  strong  opposition,  the  people 
known  as  Seventh-day  Adventists  have  arisen  to 
bear  their  testimony  for  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord. 
They  have  had  perils  from  open  foes,  and  from 
false  brethren ;  but  they  have  thus  far  overcome 
the  difliculties  of  the  way,  and  from  each  have 
gathered  strength  for  the  conflict  before  them. 
They  have  a  definite  work  which  they  hope  to 

» Rev.  12: 17  ;  U:  12.  a  Rev.  10:10. 


THE    SABBATH    IX    AMEKICA.  509 

accomplish.  It  is  to  make  ready  a  people  pre- 
pared for  the  advent  of  the  Lord. 

Honorable  mention  should  be  made  of  the  Sev- 
enth-day Adventists  of  Switzerland.  They  first 
learned  these  precious  truths  from  Elder  M.  B. 
Czechowski,  who  a  few  years  since  instructed 
them  in  the  commandments  of  God  and  the  faith 
of  Jesus.  Since  his  labors  with  them  ceased, 
God  has  given  them  strength  to  stand  with  firm- 
ness for  his  truth,  and  has  added  to  their  num- 
bers. They  have  a  heart  to  obey  the  truth  and 
to  sacrifice  for  its  advancement.  They  number 
about  sixty  persons.  There  are  a  few  individuals 
of  this  faith  also  in  Italy,  Germany,  and  Denmark. 

The  observance  of  the  Sabbath  is  sometimes 
advocated  on  the  ground  that  man  needs  a  day 
of  rest  and  will  grow  prematurely  old  if  he  labor 
seven  days  in  each  w^eek,  which  is  doubtless  true ; 
and  it  has  also  been  advocated  on  the  ground 
that  God  will  bless  in  basket  and  in  store  those 
who  hallow  his  Sabbath,  which  may  be  true  in 
many  cases ;  but  the  Bible  does  not  urge  motives 
of  this  kind  in  respect  to  this  sacred  institution. 
Without  doubt  there  are  great  incidental  advant- 
ages in  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  But 
these  are  not  what  God  sets  before  us  as  the  rea- 
sons for  its  observance.  The  true  reason  is  infi- 
nitely higher  than  all  considerations  of  this  kind, 
and  should  constrain  men  to  obey,  even  were  it 
certain  that  it  would  cost  them  all  that  is  dear 
in  the  present  life. 

The  Sabbath  has  been  advocated  on  the  ground 
that  it  secures  to  men  a  day  for  divine  worship 
in  which  by  common  consent  they  may  appear 
before  God.  This  is  a  very  important  consider- 
ation, and  yet  the  Bible  says  little  concerning  it. 


510  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

It  is  one  of  the  incidental  blessings  of  tlie  Sab- 
bath, and  not  the  chief  reason  for  its  observance. 
The  Sabbatli  was  ordained  to  commemorate  the 
creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 

The  importance  of  the  Sabbath  as  the  memo- 
rial of  creation  is  that  it  keeps  ever  present  the 
true  reason  why  worship  is  due  to  God.  For  the 
worship  of  God  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  he  is 
the  Creator  and  that  all  other  beings  were  created 
by  him.  The  Sabbath  therefore  lies  at  the  very 
foundation  of  divine  worship,  for  it  teaches  this 
great  truth  in  the  most  impressive  manner,  and 
no  other  institution  does  this.  The  true  gi'ound 
of  divine  woi-ship,  not  of  that  on  the  seventh 
day  merely,  but  of  all  worship,  is  found  in  the 
distinction  between  the  Creator  and  his  creatures. 
This  great  fact  can  never  become  obsolete,  and 
must  never  be  forgotten.  To  keep  it  in  man's 
mind,  God  gave  to  him  the  Sabbath.  He  received 
it  in  his  innocency,  and  notwithstanding  the  per- 
versity of  his  professed  people,  God  has  preserved 
this  sacred  institution  through  the  entire  period 
of  man's  fallen  state. 

The  four  and  twenty  elders  in  the  very  act  of 
worshiping  Him  who  sits  upon  the  throne,  state 
the  reason  why  worship  is  due  to  God : — 

'"'■  Thon  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory  and  honor 
and  power  ;  for  thou  hast  created  all  things,  and  for  thy 
pleasure  they  are  and  were  created."  ^ 

This  great  truth  is  therefore  worthy  to  be  re- 
membered even  in  the  glorified  state.  And  we 
shall  presently  learn  that  wliat  God  gave  to  man 
in  Paradise,  to  keep  this  great  truth  before  his 
mind,  shall  be  honored  by  him  in  Paradise  re- 
stored. 


■Rev.  4  :T\  V 


THE    SABBATH     IN    AMERICA.  511 

The  future  is  given  to  us  in  the  prophetic 
Scrij^tures.  From  them  we  learn  that  our  earth 
is  reserved  unto  fire,  and  that  from  its  ashes  shall 
spring  new  heavens  and  earth,  and  ages  of  end- 
less date.^  Over  this  glorified  inheritance,  the 
second  Adam,  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  shall  bear 
rule,  and  under  his  gracious  protection  the  na- 
tions of  them  which  are  saved  shall  inherit  the 
land  forever.^  When  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
thus  fill  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea, 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Most  High  is  again  and  for 
the  last  time  brought  to  view : — 

"  For  as  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth,  which  I  will 
make  shall  remain  before  me,  saith  the  Lord,  so  shall 
your  seed  and  your  name  remain.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  that  from  one  new  moon  to  another,  and  from  one 


1  2  Pet.  3  ;  Isa.  65  ;  Rev.  21,  22.     Milton  thus  states  this  doc- 
trine : — 

"The  world  shall  burn,  and  from  her  ashes  spring 
New  heaven  and  earth,  wherein  the  just  shall  dwell, 
And  after  all  their  tribulation  long, 
8ee  golden  days,  fruitful  of  golden  deeds, 
With  joy  and  love  triumphing,  and  fair  truth." 

— Paradise  Xosf,  book  iii,  lines  334-338. 

"  So  shall  the  world  go  on, 
To  good  malignant,  to  bad  men  benign  ; 
Under  her  own  weight,  groaning  ;  till  the  day 
Appear  of  respiration  to  the  just. 
And  vengeance  to  the  wicked,  at  return 
Of  Him  so  lately  promised  to  thy  aid, 
The  woman's  seed  ;  obscurely  then  foretold, 
Now  ampler  known  thy  Saviour  and  thy  Lord  : 
Last,  in  the  clouds,  from  heaven  to  be  revealed 
In  glory  of  the  Father,  to  dissolve 
Satan  with  his  perverted  world ;  then  raise 
,       From  the  conflagrant  mass,  purged  and  retined, 
New  heaven,  new  earth,  ages  of  endless  date, 
Founded  in  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  love  ; 
To  bring  forth  fruits,  joy,  and  eternal  bliss." 

— Id.  book  xii,  lines  537-551. 

2Dan.  7:9,  10,  13,  14,  17-27  ;  Ps.  2 : 7-9  ;  37  : 9-11,  18-22,  34 
Mai.  4:1-3. 


512  HISTORY    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

Sabbath  to  another,  shall  all  flesh  come  to  worship  be- 
fore me,  saith  the  Lord."  ^ 

Does  not  Paul  refer  to  tliese  very  facts  set 
foi-th  by  Isaiah  when  he  says,  "  There  remaineth 
therefore  a  rest  [Greek,  Sahhatismos,  literally  "  A 

KEEPING    OF    THE    SABBATH "]    to    the   people    of 

God"?^  The  reason  for  this  monthly  gathering 
to  the  New  Jerusalem  of  all  the  host  of  the  re- 
deemed from  every  part  of  the  new  earth  may 
be  found  in  the  language  of  the  Apocalypse  : — 

^'  And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear 
as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on  either 
side  of  the  river  was  there  the  tree  of  life,  which  bare 
twelve  manner  of  fruits  and  yielded  her  fruit  cveiy 
month  ;  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing 
[literally,  the  service]^  of  the  nations."* 

The  gathering  of  the  nations  that  are  saved  to 
tlie  presence  of  the  Creator,  from  the  whole  face  of 
the  new  earth  on  each  successive  Sabbath,  attests 
the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  even  in  that  holy 
state,  and  sets  the  seal  of  the  Most  High  to  the 
perpetuity  of  this  ancient  institution. 

ilsa.  G6  :22,  23. 

2  Heb.  4  :  9.  The  margin  renders  it  "  a  keeping  of  a  Sabbath." 
Liddell  and  Scott  define  Sabhatismos  "  a  keeping  of  the  Sabbath." 
They  give  no  other  definition,  but  derive  it  from  the  verb  Sabha- 
tizo,  which  they  define  by  these  words  only,  "to  keep  the  Sab- 
bath." Schrevelius  defines  tSabbatismos  by  this  one  phrase  : 
"Observance  of  the  Sabbath."  He  also  derives  it  from  Sabha- 
tizo.  Sabbatismos  is  therefore  the  noun  in  Greek  which  signifies 
the  actqfiSabbath-keeping,  while  Sabbatizo,  from  which  it  is  de- 
rived, is  the  verb  which  expresses  that  act. 

3  See  the  Lexicons  of  Liddell  and  Scott,  Schrevelius,  and  Green- 
field. 

<Rcv.  22:1,  2. 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS  QUOTED. 


Abyssimax  Ambassador,  425. 
Acta  Martyrum,  244,  25-3. 
Advent  Revieio,  502,  507.      [420. 
Allix,  Dr.,  400,  407,  415,  41G,  418, 
Anatolius,  227. 
Andrews,  Dr.,  244,  24G.  248. 
Aquensis,  Gl*.       Archelaus,  SIG. 
Augsburg  Confession.  434. 
Augustine,  71.  247,  3G5. 
Bafdesanes,  219,  284. 
Barnabas,  218,  231,  232,  235,  242, 

2S4,  280,  299,  300,  301,  312, 

313. 
Backus,  478,  494,  49(5. 
Bnilcj,  James,  494,  49G.  497,  499. 
Bamptield,  Francis,  489, 
Barclay,  441,  442,  443. 
Baronius,  250,  253-257. 
Barrett,  29, 
Baxter,  38,  362,  865. 
Benedict,  399,  405,  408,  4o9,  410, 

415,  418,  4G9,  470. 
Beza.  435,  441. 
]Jeza's  Translation,  177. 
Bible  Dictionary  of  Am.  Tract 

Society,  211,  212. 
Bingham.  228,  340. 
Binius,  384,  388,  394. 
Bliss,  Sylvester,  9,  31. 
Bloomfield,  12G,  108,  170,  189. 
lioehmer,  237. 

Bound,  Nicholas,  19,  71, 472-475. 
Bower,  198,  274,  275,  390,  420, 

421. 
Boyle,  275. 
Brabourne,  339,  484. 
Brerewood,  341,  370. 
Bresse,  414. 
Brez.  Guy  de,  423. 
Bucer,  435. 
Buchanan,  430,  431. 
Buck,  20,  230,  423. 
Butler,  Alvan,  402. 
Calmet,  20,  108. 
Calvin,  lo,  74,  239,  430-41;;. 
Carlstadt,  447-459. 

Sa!)))atli  Ili-^toiv.  V\ 


Chafie,  201,  202. 

Chambers,  479,  48o. 

Chrvsostom,  303. 

Clarke,  Adam,  10, 14.  38,  52.  55, 
08,  09,  9G,  103,  109,  200,  237, 
200,  458. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  219,  220, 
221,    222,  290,  299,  318-322. 

Clement  of  Rome,  311. 

Coleman,  Dr.,  31. 

Coleman,  Lyman,  235,  230,  335- 
337,  472-474. 

Columba,  St.,  402. 

Commodianus,  290. 

Constantine,  204,  275,  329,  342, 
340,  347. 

Constitutions,  Apostolical,  287, 
288,  292,  296,  312,  315,  326- 
i  329. 

I  Cox,  340,  344,  357,  859,  862,  363, 
I  365,  308,  434,  435,  442,  444, 

I  445,  440,  404,  483,  484,  485, 

I         487. 

I  Cranmer,  435.         Crozier,  135. 
!  Crolv,  300,  398. 

i  Crosbv,  400,  400,  487-489,  492. 
I  Cumming,  Dr.,  199,  200. 
I  Cvprian,  248,  291. 
I  D'Aubigne,  401,  410,   412,  413, 
:  449,  450,  452,  453,  454,  455, 

j  450,  400. 

I  Davidis,  401. 
I  Dictionary  of  Chronology,  373. 

Dionysius,  214. 
'  Domville,    Sir   Wm.,    234,   239, 
I  241.  242,  245,  240,  247,  248, 

I  251,  206,  271,  272,  344. 

!  Douay  Translation,  38,  39,  170, 
;  177,  202. 

i  Dowling,  1.96,  199,  274. 
;  Du  Pin,  206,  450. 
I  Edgar,  Dr.,  4o5. 
'  Edwards,  Justin,  112,  113,  114, 
126,  177.  212,   210,  244,  271, 
357,  300.  [405. 

'  Edwards,    Prosiileni,    138,   -!0J. 


5U 


INDEX    OK    ATTIIOKS. 


•Elliot,  :ir>\,  :):>:,  41.-,  417. 
Encyclopedia  Americana,  342. 
Encvclopedia    Britannica,    190, 

■;U:i,  4:]2,  44:i,  445. 
Encyclopedia       of      Religious 

Knowledge,  284. 
Eusebius,  lOS,  iil4,  21.;,  227,  234, 

355,  357,  359. 
Erasmus,  463,  464. 
Family  Testament,  12G. 
Fleury,  374.  Eox,  4G0. 

Frith,  459,  4(50. 

Geddes,  418,  424,  425,  42 G,  42S. 
Gerendi,  John,  4G3. 
Gesenius,  17.  Gesner,  248. 

Gibbon,  194,  27fi,  339,  34S,  354, 

424,  425,  42G. 
Giesler,  275,  334. 
Giltillan,  250,  388,  394,  402,  403, 

480,  481.  483. 
Gill,  10,  70,  71,  2G0. 
Gobat,  426.  Goldastus,  410. 

Greenfield,  512. 
Gregory  of  Xyssa,  361. 
Gregory  of  Tours,  374. 
Gregory  the  Great,  374. 
Gregory  VII.,  420. 
Gretser,  410. 
Grotius,  128,  129. 
Guericke,  326. 
Gurney,  242,  244,  248,  360. 
Hacket,  150,  16«,  178,  181,  233. 
Hales,  Dr.,  31. 

Ilase,  Dr.,  281.  [472. 

llengstenberg,  74,  lOO,  .'572,  471, 
llessev,  345.  362,  388,  435,  436, 

440,  442,  444,  445,  460,  464, 

485. 
Ileylvn,  265,  266,  275,  276,  280, 

285,  352,  353,  354,  363,  364, 

366,  370,  371,  374,  379,  380, 

3S1.  383,  384,  385,  388,  394, 

420,  433,  434,  442,  474,  476, 

4S3,  485. 
Hope  of  Israel,  502.       [391-393. 
Hoveden,    Roarer    de,    355-388, 
Hudson,  239.  ^ 
Ignatius,  211,  231,  237,  238,  240, 

241,  242,  288,  292,  293,  324- 

326. 
Iremcus,  216,  218,  271,  273,  274, 

284,  295,  304,  305,  309,  310, 

313. 
.lanifK..  William,  2So,  :!(;<•. 


Jennings,  2Go.         Jerome,  3G4. 
Joues,  404,    406,    408,  409,  411, 

414,  415,  418,  419. 
Jortin,  347,  362.  4l>4.  [136. 

Josephus,  27,  34,  110,  112,  133, 
Justin    Martyr,   212,    218,    263, 
267,  270,  271,  284,  289,  296, 
297,  301,  302,  303,  304,  316, 
317,  318. 
Killen,  Dr.,  233,  238,  239. 
i  King,  Lord,  2S1. 
i  Kitto,    ISl.    222,    233,   234,  240, 
i  241,  363. 

[  Knox,  440,  443,  444. 
I  Lactantius,  314.  Lange,  19. 

'■  Lamy,  463.  Lardner,  367. 

i  Lcmpriere,  416. 
I  Leo,  Pope,  366. 
j  Lewis,  A.  H.,  485,  488,  497,  499. 

Lev,  John,  361. 
I  Liddell  and  Scott,  512, 
j  Life  of  Luther  in  Pictures,  457. 

Lucius,  247,  350. 
I  Luther,  17,  434,  447-459. 
!  Maclaine,  449,  451,  452,  455,  456. 
!  Magdeburg  Centuriators,  350. 

Marsh,  348. 
1  Marsh,  Joseph,  135. 
I  Mather,  Cotton.  100,  478. 
i  ^.lassie,  427,  428. 
i  Maxson,  W.  B.,  424,  467.  469. 
I  M-Clintock  and  Strong,  228,  251, 
260,  351,  391,  399,  400,  401, 
1  424,  425,  441,  443,  444,  448, 

I  454.  45S,  460. 

I  Melancthon,  434. 
!  Melito.  215,  216.  [496,  499. 

!  Memorial,   S.   D.   B.,   465,   493- 
!  Metaphrastes,  350. 

Miller,  Wm.,  45.  87,  135. 
I  Milman,  346,  347. 
I  Milner.  233,  266.        Milton,  511.' 
Modern  Sabbath  Examined.  A- 
nonymous,    197,    340,    ;U4, 
345,  442. 
Monks  of  the  West.  402. 
Morality  of   the    Fourth    Com- 
mandment, Anon.,  14,  15. 
Morer,  139,  189.   241,  262,  263, 
333,  338,  339,  344,  362,  364, 
365,  366,  372,  373,  374,  376, 
377,  378,  379,  380.  881,  382, 
883,  384,  385    SiS,  S93-397, 
M2. 


INDEX    OF    AUTHORS. 


Mosheim.  2l>7,  229,  231,  232,  233, 
235,  237,  242,  249,  264,  2(35, 
3-26,  334,  335,  343,  347,  388, 
389.  417,  418,  449,  451,  452, 
455,  456.  463,  466. 

Morton,  J.  W.,  170. 

Murdock,  405,  406. 

Xeale,  474.  487,  488. 

Neaoder,  198,  230,  231,  233,  242, 
243,  274,  280. 

'Sew  York  Independent,  500. 

Xew  York  Tribune,  500. 

ZVicephorus,  351. 

Mcetas.  421.  [261. 

JTort/i,  Britisk  E-^view,  259,  260, 

Xovatian,  311,  312,  314. 

Origen,  225,  291,  295,  307,  313, 
314,  323,  324,  325. 

Origin  of  Septenary  Institu- 
tions. Anonymous,  442. 

Pagitt,  200,  201,  480-483. 

Paragraph  Bible,  189. 

Paris,  Matthew,  3SS,  389. 

Perron e,  477,  478. 

Peter  of  Alexandria,  287,  292. 

Philalethes,  Irenteus.  375, 

Philo,  27,  320,  321,  322. 

Pinkerton.  405.    Plato,  219,  290. 

Plinv-,  211.  231,  235,  236,  237, 
242,  243. 

Poem  on  Genesis,  315. 

Preble,  T.  M.,  501,  502. 

Priestly,  440.  [361. 

Prynne,  William,  151,  181,  360, 

Purchas,  10,  425,  431,  432. 

Records  of  First  Baptist  church 
in  Xtnyport,  490. 

Reeves,  Wm.,  201,  267. 

Robinson.  Robert,  197,  239,  240, 
408,  409,  410,  411,  417,  441, 
460,  461-463. 

Ruinart,  247-251.  257. 

Rupp,  499. 

Saccho,  Roiner,  403,  404. 

Samaritan  Pentateuch,  14. 

Sawyer's  Translation,  177,  180. 

Schatt;  281. 

Schreyelius,  512.    [454,  455,  457. 

Sears,   447,   450,  451,   452,  453, 

Saptuagint,  14. 


;  Shimeall,  9,  369. 

i  Socrates,  227.  228,  330,  367. 

!  Sozomen,  227,  367. 

■•  Spirit  of  Popery,  269. 

j  Sprint,  480.       '    Stebbing,  423. 

I  Stennet,  495.      Stockwood,  480. 

'  Stuart,  Prof.,  233,  300. 

i  Sunday   and   the    Mosaic   Sab- 

;  bath,  349. 

!  S\viss  Confession,  434.  [293. 

Syriac    Documents,     288,    289, 

Syriac  Bible,  14. 
'.  Syriac  Testament,  177. 
:  Taylor,  D.  T.,  9. 
i  Tavlor,  Jer..  269,  270,  337,  343. 
I  TaVlor,  W.  B.,  192.  203,  236,  237. 
i  Tertullian,    222,    223,    224,    236, 
:  263,  264,  276,  277,  278,  279, 

285,  286,  287,  290,  295,  296, 
:  298,  299,  305,  306,  307,  310, 

311,   313.  315.  316,  322,  362. 

Theophilus,  212,  310. 
1  Thomas,  410. 

Treatise  of  Thirty   Controyer- 
i  sies.  Anonymous,  203. 

■  Twisse,    17,    24,    247,    333,   334, 

374,  400,  442. 
i  Tyndale,  435. 
I  Usher.  410.  411. 
I  Utter,  G.  B.,  467,  46S,  483,  484, 
;  486,  490,  491,  496,  499. 

;  Van  Braght,  468. 
j  Terste^an,  259,  260. 
i  Victoriuus,  307.  308,  329. 
I  Waddinffton,  403,  40i. 

Ys'all,  468. 
:  Webster,  15,  259,  260,  347. 
!  "West,  Francis,  374. 
I  Westminster   Etview,  44:4:,  445. 
I  White,    Dr.   Francis,    339,   340, 
305,  371,  372,  419,  423,  456, 
457,  484-486. 

Whiting's  Translation,  180. 

Wilkins,  388.  Wood,  488. 

Worcester,  15,  259,  200. 

Wycliife's  Translation,  10. 

XaVier,  429, 

Yeates,  429. 

Zonaras,  287. 

Zwingle,  431,  435,  430. 


IXDEX  OF  SCIIIPTUIIKS. 


<;enesis. 

Pages 

11,  47,  107 

Paces. 

2  :  23-25, 49 

1,  ... 

10 

3  : 36 

1-13, 
14-23 

11 

3  :6,  7 49 

12 

3  :  6,  13-16,  18     ...    .               56 

1,  2f), 

22,  119 

4  : 36,  42 

24-31, 
28,   .. 

13 

4  :31, 49 

17 

5  :   36 

: 4.T   RA 

5:3 56 

- 

1-S,  7 

1-3.  . 

41, 

299, 

7-9,  . 

1"),  . , 

18-22, 

ii),".V 
20,  .  . 

21-23,  122 

...14,  15,  19,   25,   3G, 
119,  12G,  140,  144,  191, 
4b9 

13 

7  :25,    31,  40 

12  : 41,  70,  78,  83 

12:15,  16,   84,  88 

12:25, 70,  86 

12  :  29-42 36 

., 

17 

13 

28,  34 

324 

13 

"A 

12  :41,  42, i07 

., 

12:  43,  44 43 

"> 

12  :  43-48, 52 

12  :48,  49, 102 

13  : 78 

i 

13:2                                              55 

34 

16  : 24,  41,  67 

c, 

24,  . . . 

15,29 

34 

16  :4-30 36-39,  185 

16  :  22,  23,  . . .  .21,  24,  31,  70,  94, 

(> 

9,  ... 

29 

123,  189,  191 

QA 

16  •  '>2   35                                     40 

>T 

4,  10, 

31    40 

16  :29, 100,  307 

S : 

10,  12 
1-4.  . . 
5,  7,  . 
25,  .. 

,31    40 

IS  :16, 36 

0 
0 

i^S,  170 

29 

19  : 44,  45,  67,  75,  76,  1 62 

19  :3-8,  37 

10 

34 

19  :5,  6 166 

n 

1-9,  .. 

19:  12,  23, 18,  55 

11 

10-16, 
1-S,  . 

34 

20  :  ....44,  51,  76,  81,  140,  162, 

v^ 

35 

184 

IT) 

36 

20  :1-17, 45 

17 

42 

20  :  2 37 

17 

7,  8,  , 

[,{] 

20  :8-ll,  ....14,  20,  24.  25,  37, 

17  • 

9-14,  . 

35 

40,  52.  77,  81,  88.  126,  191, 

1H  • 

19,  ... 

3'^   35 

380 

''(1  • 

i),       ... 

24,  . . . 

29,  32,  3() 

-,(', 

20  :1S-21, 53,  67 

"(>  • 

20-24:   51 

L>S  : 
'J'.i  : 

13.   ... 

27    28 

5() 

31,  40 

4"'   170 

23  :10,  11, 85 

23  :12 51,  (;9,  123 

23  :  14-17, 72 

.•;4  : 

14,  ... 

10,  ... 

35 

3 1    40 

24:  75 

24  :  3-8 37,  52,  67 

EXODUS. 

3(; 

24  -3-13                                        53 

1  : 

24  :10, 37,  4rt 

IXDKX    OF    SCnU'TURES. 


517 


24  :12, 02,  162 

24  :  Iti, 52 

24:12-18 53 

24:  21-23, 53 

25-31  :  53 

25  :1-21 62,  160 

25  :21,  22, 161 

29  :  9 TO 

31  :12-ly, 54 

31  :13, 88 

31  :16,   70 

31  :17, 14,  43,  47,  305 

31  :1S, 162 

32  :   64,  65,  67 

32-34  : 44.  59 

34:1, 60,  79 

34:10-28, 60 

34  :15,  16, 170 

34:21, 59 

34  :  28,    45,  60,  80 

35  :l-3, 67,  71 

LEVITICUS. 

3  :17, :}S,  70,  170 

8  :30 15 

11:45, 56 

16  : 160,  162 

16  :  29-31, 85 

17:13,  14,   170 

19:  1-3,  30, 71 

19  :29, 170 

20:9,  10, 58 

22:  6,  7, 108 

22  :32,  33,    36,  45 

23  : 72.  185 

23  :3, 42,  71,307 

23:7,  8 84 

23  :  10-21, 83,  Si 

23  :24,  25,    85,  88 

23  :32 88,  107,  148 

23  :  27-32, 85 

23  :  34-43, 84 

23  :37,  38, 89,  140 

23  :  39 85,  88 

24  :  5-9 i)S,  70,  97,  120 

24:15-17, 58 

25  :2-7 85 

25  :  8-54, 86 

20  :1,  2 72 

26  : 34,  35,  43,    86 

NUMBBRS. 

9  : 70 

10  :10, 84 

11,  21  : 67 

13,  14 72 


14: 64,  65,  07 

14  :35, 73 

15  :41, 36,  45 

15  :30,  36, 73,  74 

19  :21, 70 

23  :  9,  35 

25  :  2, 170 

28  :  9,  10 dS,  120 

28  :  11-15, 84 

28:17,  18,  25,    84 

28:  26-31, S3,  84 

29  : 1-7, 85 

UEVTEEONOMY. 

1  : 76 

4  :  12,  13, 61,  79 

4  :20,  36 

5  :  81 

5  :l-3 75 

5:  4-22,  45 

5  :14 37,52 

5  :  12-15, 76,  81 

5:  22, 46,  61,  70,  80 

6  :1, 70 

7  : 70 

7:6, 45 

9  :  59 

9  :10, SO 

9  :24, 67 

10:  162 

lU  :  1-0 45,  60,  62,  79,  SO, 

139,  160 

13  :6-ls, 58 

14:2 45 

16  :  7<-> 

16  :6,  108 

16  :9-12 S3 

16  :  13-15, 84 

16  :10, 90,  135 

17  :2-7,  58 

23  :2,  108 

24  :13,  15,  108 

24  :  17,18, 78 

28  :64, 102 

31  :  24-26, 139 

32  :  7,  8 34 

32  :  16-35, 104 

33:2 44,  62,  380 

33  :  27,  28, 35 

JOSHUA. 

5  :  70 

5  :2-8, 64 

6  :  95 

5  :12, 40,07 

6  :15 96 


518 


INDEX    OF    SCKIPTUKES. 


20.  .. 
12-U, 
26,  27, 


.9(3 

,108 
.17 


24  :  2,  14,  23,  35, 04 

JUDGES. 

:>  :■, 44 

14  :18, los 


i)  :  7,  8,   35 

0  :18,  14, 37,  49,  106 

9  :38, lOt) 

10  :1-31, lOf. 

10  :31,33, 09, 107 

13  :  15-22, 01,  103,  108,  12() 

13  :  19, 


,108 


ESTHER. 


1   SAMUEL, 


2  :14, 


181 


1-6. 


.  .  9 

181 
.84 
,.97 


,107 


1,  ... 

2.  05, 


1  KINGS. 


,108 
.45 
,.G0 

,.30 


13. 


,31,  40 


260 
.11 
.13 


,160 
..45 


2  KINGS 


:23,  .. 
20,  21, 
5-9,.. 
18,   ... 


03,  100 
18 


loo,  148 

101 

262 


1  (JBRONICLES. 


1-32, 

25,  .. 
32,  .  . 

1,  ... 


93 

, 148 

.04,  97,  00,  120 

, 60 

00 

..99 


22,  23, 58 

I'SALMS. 

7-9, 511 

202,  203,  325,  326 

[title],    186 

[title],   ...292,  293,  325,  326 

7, 163 

9 


8  : 
12  : 
19  : 
33  : 
37  :  0-11.  18-22,  34 

40  :   , 

40 
68 
78 
81 
90 
90 


6-S, 
17,  , 
106, 
3,  .. 


....26 
...511 
...163 
...162 
,44,  62 

67 

. ...  84 
. .  0,  36 
. . . 200 


92 


Z  CIIUONICLEf' 


8,  9, 

12,  . 

13,  . 


4^8, 


...30 
...30 
. . .  90 

r2,  09 
..108 


,100 


'>6 

:  3, 

:  1 6-2< ',   

:i!( 

lor> 

'.6 

rn, 

,^6 

3 

E'/KA. 
1-6,    

30 

s 

NEIIEMIAH. 

84 

8 

:2,  9-12,  14-ls 

30 

y 

:6-13,  

44 

95  : 
105 
116 
118 
119 
119 
122 
136 
147 
147 
14' 

1 

s 

il4 
2S 
29 
40 
41 
41 
42 


43-45, 
15,  .. 
22-24 

91,  "i  7. 


:  142,  151, 
:  6, 


1<;-1' 


ion 

64 

36 

40<' 

155 

12 

145,400 

9<> 

11 

60 

i]s 


:  13, 

1-^, 

ISAIAH. 

.  80 

,  200,  306 
57 

•  1, 

102 

:17, 
•  1  3, 

. . . . 

307 

•  '>S, 

14 

•  <^ 

35 

•  17, 

4:. 

:  21, 

1 23 

IXDEX    or    SCRIPTURIS. 


bl'3 


Z, 5(j 

138 

:   52,  91,  12(3 

2, : 30(3 

1-8,   89,  101 

13,  14, 28,  G9,  i^8,  89, 

103,-123,  126,  192,  306 

15, 9 

511 

16, 145 

22,  23,  ....100,  141,305,512 
JEREMIAH. 

U, ST 

23-28, 103 

10-12, 9,  26,  43 

16 105 

19-27 91,  104,  126 

14.  15 490  j 


>,-> 


33, 163,  309 

31-34, 159 

25, 12 

22, 69 

262 


13, 


LAMENTATIONS. 


EZEKIEL. 

54,  64,  74, 


:  12-24,  ...65,72,  73,104, 

:  19-22 

:  7,  8,  26,   

:  38,  39, 1U4, 

:  48, 

4S  :    

:  7-11,  

•  ''4 


18, 


100,  lu(5,  143, 

4,  12, 

DANIEL. 
369, 

.'7 305. 


16, 


2  :11, 


62, 

...115,  132,  138, 
HOSEA. 

87,83 


104 
105 
109 
105 
105 
103 
105 
175 
105 

511 
369 

501 
400 
107 
159 

,  90 
121 


JOEL. 

1  :  14, 18 

2:  15, IS 

AMOS. 

3:  1,  2    45 

5  :  25-27 64 

8:  4-6, 100,  101 

MICAH. 

5:2, 9 

ZEPIIANIAH. 

1  :  7 18 

3  :  3, 181 

MALACIII. 

4:  1-3, 511 

"1  ESDKAS. 

6  :  33, 10 

ECCLESIASTICUS. 
49  :  16,   32 

1  MACCABEES. 

1:  41-43, 110 

2  :  20-38, llo 

2:  41 Ill 

9  :  43-49,    112 

13  :  22, 69 

2  MACCAEEES. 

5  :  25,  26,  Ill 

6  :  n, Ill 

7  :  28, 10 

8  :  23-28 112 

15:   ' 112 

MATTHEW. 

5-7: 310 

5  :  17-19,  ...123,  126,  140,  141, 
159,  160,  315 

7  :12, 126 

8  :5-15, 117 

8  :  11,  103 

8:  16, 108 

12:  1-8 lis 

12:  3,  4 97 

12:  9-14,  69,  124 

15  :  9, 397 

17  :  1,   148 

19  :  3-9,   122 

19  :17, '..' "..'.'.126 

19  :  26, 145 

23:  23 131 

21:  15-21, 69,  132,  135,  138 

24  :  37-39, 34 

26  :  180 

27:    13s 

2.-  :   43<^ 


520 


INDEX    OF    SCRIPTCllES. 


28:  1,  40,  142 

28  :  10,  20, 150 

MARK. 

1  :  14,  15, 115 

1  :  21, 42 

1  :  21-31 117 

1  :  32-34 108,  118 

2:  2J-2S lis 

2  :  25,  2G, 07 

2  :  27.  28, 22,  48,  GO,  118, 

121,  140,  192 

3  :  1-G, 124 

6:  1-6, 125 

13  :18, GO 

14  :30, 107 

IG  :  438 

IG  :1,  2,  9, 49,  143 

IG  :  14 145 

IG  :  15, 159 

i/ckt:. 

2  :  S-11,   107 

2  :34, 57 

4:  14-lG 42,  IIG 

4  :  30-30, 117 

4  :  40,  108,  118 

G  :  1-5, 07,  lis 

G  :  6-11,  124 

9  :  28, 148 

13  :  10-17,   130 

14:  1-G, GO,  131 

IG:  17, 126 

17:  2G,  27 34 

21  :  2(1 132 

21  :24, 102 

21  :28, 152 

22:  34 107 

23  :4G-r.3, 141 

23  :  54-5G, 4s,  141,  143,  182 

24  : 145,  148 

24:  1 4S,  1-13,  182,  438 

24:  40-53, 150 

.JOli.V. 

1  :  1-3 22,  119 

1  :  1-10,    115 

5  :1-18, 12G 

5  :19 127 

7  :  2-14,  37, 30 

7  :  21-23, 42,  127 

8  :l-0 58 

8:  5G 156 

9:  1-lG 120 

17  :  0,  24, 115 

15  :18,   GO 


19  :3S--42, 

20  • 

• 141 

438 

20  :  1,  10, 
20  -26  . . , 

143,  145 

.147 

21  •  ...  , 

,147 

21  :  20-23, 
21  :  25,  . . . 

1  : 

201 

190 

ACTS. 

150 

1:3  

147 

1  :  12, 

2:1,  2.... 

2  :1-11,  .. 
2  -1-18 

42 

149,  438 

16G,  185 

S3 

2  :  42-4G,  . 

180 

7  :  38,  53, . 

7  :  41-43,  . 

8  :  20-40, 
9-11  :  . . . . 

50 

G4 

.  .42^1- 

159 

10 :  28 

85 

10  :  2,  4,  7 

11  :  2,  3,  . . 

13  :  5,  . . . . 

22,  30-35, 175 

35 

172 

13  :  14,  27, 

13  :  42-44, 

14  : 1,  .. . 

167 

IGS,  175 

172,  175 

14 :  IG,  17, 

15  :  

15  :  10,  28, 
15  :21,  .. . 

35 

58,  1G9,  170 

29, 170,  171 

42 

16  :!!,  ... 

178 

IG  -13  15 

172  175 

17  :  1-4,  . 
17  :  4,  10- 
17  :  10,  17, 
17  :  26,  . . 

173 

2,  175 

172 

34,  48 

17  :  29,  30, 
.18  :  3.  4,  . 

18  :  10,  ... 
10  :  8,  ... 
20  :  G-13, 

20  :  20,  30, 

21  :  25,  ... 
23  :  31,  32, 
26  :  12-17, 

1:18-32,... 

2-4  : 

2-17 

35 

174 

172 

172 

...151,  17s,  170,  203, 
138,  430 

102 

170 

181 

15'.) 

X'vO.MAN.S. 

20,35.14(5 

45 

185 

3:  , 

18t 

3:1.2 

3:19,31,.. 
4:1,  

45 

141, 161,162, 164,105 

Wo 

INDEX    OF    SCniPTURES. 


521 


13-17     35.100,165 

163 

28,161 

154 


4:2-4, 


.S:8-12, 

6:3-5, 

6:23,  i;» 

7:1,  185 

7:12,13, 107,184 

7.-7i_v5         3(19 

s'-i-";     '  309 

8;3,4,  161,163 

8:23, 152 

«J:4.  5, 45 

11:13, 159 

11  ■  17-24, 165 

13:8-10,  161 

14: 186 

14: 1-G, 183 

1  COKIXTHIANS. 

5:0-8, 83,334 

10:13 22 

11:9, 1-^2 

11-23-26 153,  159,180 

15":27 • 186  1 

10:1,2,  175,203,439  • 

2  COIUXTIIIAXS.  i 

.•^•3  103  I 

8;  14, 15 'iO\ 

I 
GALATIAXS.  | 


.145 


IIEBREAVS. 

1  .  11,115 

2  -2 59 

2:13, 57 

3:4, ^5 

3-16 *^' 

4:0  323,512 

7^1o/"." 141,160, 16"  ^"■• 

8:1-5,  

8:8-12, 

9:  

9:1-7 

9:10, 

9:18-20, 

9:23,24,  


16(1 
159 

les 

100 
..28 
..52 
160 


9:2'*,..., 

11:3 

11 :  4-7.  . 
11  : 8-16, 


I(i2 

.11,  26 

34 

103 


2  ':  8-12 141,  161,  167,  170, 184 


23, 


1  PETEK. 


7-9,  ... 
13, 14, . 

17,  

19,  

4,  5,  ... 
8-11,  .. 


.152, 161 
36 


126 

.186 


EPHESIANS. 


1,.... 
9,  .... 
4-7,  . 
9,10, 
6,  .... 
20,  .. 


35 

.237 
.102 
.156 
.166 
.130 
...34 


13,14, 

20-23, 
V. 


152 

152 

156 

102 


PETEIl 


;:  11-22 35,156,159 

:30 

1:2,3, 


. :  5,  6, 


....195 

34 

....511 
.11,  34 


.152 
.161 


1    JOHN. 


COLOSSIANS. 


1 :  13-16, 


.185 
.154 


165 

■■■" 195 

3  ":  4^  5r"..V.'67,'i60, 161,  162, 165, 184 
JUDE. 


2:1. 

2:18 


z:s7;i38"i59 1  ^j^  ;::;;:;::::::;;;;z:::;z::;:::;:;""..i5 


1:1: 
6:1 


12,  

14-17 

1  TIIESSALOXIAXS. 

7,8, : I'-i 

14,. 173 

16; 156 

2  THESSALONIANS. 

3.4,7,8,  195,369 

10, 324 

1  TIMOTHY. 
9 

'y""'''"'. 9 

2  TIMOTHY. 
16,17,  £02    22:1,2 


19i 


REVELATION. 

10,  183,187,192,203, 

10,11, 


9-14, 
19 


3,14, 


21,  22 ; 


-21,. 


200,  439 

510 

152 

84 

160 

370 

,404,  405 

369 

58 

.103,  511 
512 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


Adyssixians,  pp.  424-427 

Adam,  his  influence  upon  the  patriarchs 3,  31,  32 

Adam  must  have  heard  tbc   Creator  when    he  set 

apart  the  seventh  day,  1C-T9 

"After  eight  dajs,"  John  20, 147-140 

Anabaptists 422,  423 

Analysis  of  Exodus  16,  30-44 

Annual  sabbaths  enumerated,  84,  85 

Apostasies,  the  two  great  patriarchal,  33-35 

Apostasy  in  the  early  church, 103-203 

Apostasy,  progress  of,  324,  320-331,  3G1,  302 

Ark  in  the  heavenly  temple  contains  the  law,  161-103 

Armenians  of  the  East  Indies 427-432 

Article,  the,  in  Mark  2  :  27,  22,  121,  122 

Atonement,  day  of,  no  mention  of  its  observance,  30,  80 

Atonement,  the,  relates  to  the  decalogue,  02-04 

Atonement,  the,  relates  to  the  fourth  commandment,  ..  62-64 

liamptield,  Francis,  sufferings  of,  487,  488 

Barnabas,  epistle  of,  231-235 

Barnabas   thought   the   Sabbath  too   pure  for   this 

wicked  world,  200-301 

Bohemian  Sabbath-keepers,  463,404 

Bound,  Dr.,  theory  of,  concerning  the  Sabbath,  472-475 

Calvin  caused  Servetus  to  be  arrested  on  Sunday,  ..  440,  441 
Calvin's  doctrine  and  practice  concerning  Sunday,  ..  436-443 

Calvin's  interpretation  of  first-day  texts 438-440 

Calvin's  view  of  the  one-day-in-seven  theory,  437 

Carlstadt's  faults,  extent  of,    448,  440,  453,  454 

Carlstadt  a  Sabbatarian, 456,457 

Catbari,    415-417 

Causes  which  made  the  Sunday  usurpation  a  suc- 
cess,    320-331 

Change  of  the  Sabbath  not  taught  in  Vs.  118,  155-157 

Change   of  the  Sabbath  not  recorded  lest  it  make 

the  Bible  too  large,  100 

(522) 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS.  523 

Cbange  of  the  Sabbath  unheard  of  in  the  first,  cen- 
turies,   204-20G,  L^83-293 

Christian  Sabbath,  Origen    thus    calls   the  seventh 

clay, 82.3,  824 

Christ's  teachifig  with  respect  to  the  Sabbath,  115-138 

Christ  in  the  held  of  corn,  118-124 

Christ's  vrork  on  the  Sabbath  like  that  of  the  Father,  126,  127 

Chrysostom  and  Jerome  on  Sunday  labor,  803,364 

Clement's  numbering    of    the   days    explained   out 

of  Philo,  318-327 

Clement  on  the  Lord's  day,  219-222 

Climate  of  Palestine,  69 

Col.  2  :  14-17,  exposition  of 138-141 

Columba  probably  a  Sabbath-keeper,  401-403 

CoDstantine's  Sunday  law,  343-349,  353 

Contrast  between  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  and  Sun- 
day,   332,  333,  352,  353 

Councils  of  the  church,  character  of,  362,  363 

Covenant  not  made  with  their  fathers,  75 

Creation,  six  days  of,  9-13 

Creation,  nature  of,  9,  10 

Culdees  of  Great  Britain,  400-403 

Danish  and  Norwegian  Sabbath-keepers 505,  609 

Dark  Ages  defined,  398,  399 

Days,  names  of,  16 

Days,  how  many,  difierent  ones,  16 

Decalogue,  a  complete  moral  code,  61,  62 

Decalogue,  perpetuity  of  in  the  fathers,  309-312 

Deluge,  why  sent,  33-35 

Destruction  of  Jerusalem  caused  by  Sabbath-break- 
ing,    103-108 

Dionysius  on  the  Lord's  day,  214,215 

Domininnn  definad,    246-248,  255-257 

Dominicum  servasti?  244-258 

Dutch  Sabbath-keepers,  467,468 

English  Sabbath-keepers 467,  469,  470,  472-492,  500 

Entrance  of  Sunday  into  the  early  church,  261-266 

Error  not  changed  into  truth  by  age,  195,  19(' 

Eternity, 9 

Eusebius  author  of  the  doctrine  that  Christ  changed 

the  Sabbath 355-359 

"Every  day"  may  include  simply  the  six  working 

days,  185 

Every  man  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind 183-186 

Famous  falsehood  e?;aniined 213-258 


•  )2\  INDEX    OF    SrBJECTS. 

Fathers,  authorify  of,   ! 109-201 

Festivals  of  the  church  enumerated,  433,  43-1 

Festivals  of  the  Hebrews  eMuinerated,  82,8:^ 

Fires  on  tlie  Sabbath  forbidden,  nature  of  the  statute,  67-71 

Firmament  defined,  11 

First-day  history  and  papal  history  compared,  213,  282,  288 
First-day  observance  in  the  exact  words  of  the  fa- 
thers,  283-289 

First  mention  of  the  Sabbath  after  Moses,  99 

Flight  of  disciples  not  to  be  on  the  Sabbath  day,  ...  132-138 

Fourth  commandment  expounded,  , 4G-50 

Fourth  commandment  in  the  New  Testament,  141,  142 

Fraud  in  the  Bible  Diet,  of  the  Tract  Society 211,  212 

Frauds  in  Justin  Edwards,  212,  213,  216,  217,  244,  245 

Fraudulent  testimonials  to  the  Sunday  Lord's  day,  ..  211-219 

French  Sabbath-keepers,  468 

Frith,  the  martyr,  judgment  on  the  Sabbath,  459,  460 

Genesis,  bearing  of  upon  the  Sabbath 28-30 

Gentiles  admitted  into  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  159,  160 

Gentiles  blessed  for  observing  the  Sabbath,  101,  102 

German  Sabbath-keepers,  467,  499,  500,  509 

Gilfi] bin's  inexcusable  fraud, 250-258 

Globe  our,  the  Sabbath  on,  48 

Gregory  VII.,  a.  d.  1074,  condemns  Sabbath-keepers,  ...  420 

Hallowed  identical  with  sanctified,  17 

Hebrews,  how  God  favored  them,  44.  45 

Hebrews,  why  made  the  depositaries  of  the  truth,  33-37 

46,  55,  56 

Honors  pertaining  to  the  Sabbath  law,  61 

Hungarian  Sabbath-keepers,  500 

Ilypsistarii, 339,  340 

Ignatius  never  uses  the  term  Lord's  day, 211 

Ignatius,  epistles  of.  237-242 

Illustration  of  the  alleged  sanctification  of  the  sev- 
enth day  in  the  wilderness 24 

Ircna^us  mentions  no  Lord's  day,  216-218,  271-274 

Irenccus  falsely  quoted,  271-274 

Jericho,  Sabbath  not  violated  at  taking  of, 95,  96 

Jews,  eminent,  on  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath,  26,  27 

Jubilee,  no  record  of  its  observance  in  the  Bible,  30,    86 

Justin  Edwards'  Sunday  Sabbath,  i;.  c.  63,   112 

Justin  Martyr  on  Sunday,   207-270 

Justin  Martyr  a  no-Sabbath  man,  270,  271 

Justin  Martyr  mentions  no  Lord's  day, 212 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS.  D'2d 

Knox  and  the  Scotch  of  the  sixteenth  century -iio-i-io 

Laodicea,  Council  of,  curses  Sabbath-keepers,  360,  301 

Laying  by  in  store  on  first-day,  175-178 

Lord's  day  of  John,  187,  192 

Lord's  day  first  applied  to  Sunday,  222-224 

Lord's  Supper  the  ground  of  controversy  between 

Luther  and  Carlstadt,   4ol-4.')3 

Luther  and  Carlstadt,  446-450 

Luther  might  have  profited  greatly  by  Carlstadt,  ...  457-459 
Luther  on  Gen.  2:  3,   17 

Man,  meaning  of,  in  Mark  2  :  27 22,  121.  122 

Manna,  falling  of,  not  the  occasion  of  the  Sabbath,  ....  38,  8'' 

IMartyrdom  of  .John  James 489-401 

Melito  of  Sardis,  215,  210 

Miracles  and  judgments  in  support  of  Sunday, 374,  378, 

379,  392,  393 

Miracles  pertaining  to  the  Sabbath  in  the  wilderness,  ...  40 
Modern  historians  on  Sabbath  in  the  early  church, 333- 

338,  841 

Moral  obligation  of  the  Sabbath,  50 

Morrow  defined,  181 

Moses  rehearses  the  law,  , 74-79 

Moses  in  the  Mount,  51-61 

Mosheim  and  Neander,  229,  230,  242,  243 

Mount  Sinai  at  the  giving  of  the  law,  44-46 

Mystical  Lord's  day,  219-222,  224,  22G 

Nazarenes 338,  339 

Nehemiah's  Sabbath  reform,  106-109 

New  Covenant  has  a  temple  and  an  ark,  160 

Offerings  for   the  dead  as  ancient  as  the  Sunday- 
Lord's  day,  223,  224 

Olive  tree,  the  good,  165,  166 

Omissions,  remarkable,  30 

Oracles  of  God  preserved  by  the  Hebrews,  158,  159 

Origen  on  Lord's  day,  225,  226,  291 

Other  readings  of  Gen.  2  :  2,  14 

Talreologus,   462,  463 

Papal  usurpation  began  with  reference  to  Sunday,  274,  275 

Patriarchal  age,  its  great  light,  31-34 

Passaginians,  415-418 

Passover  festival  defined,  83 

Penalty  of  the  law,  58 

PciJ)L'co!-t,  d.iy  of.  Acts  2:  J 149-151 


'")2G  INDEX    OF    SU EJECTS. 

Tetrobrusian?,  418-420 

Pentecost  defined,  83 

Pei^petual  statute  for  tlieir  generations,  a  parallel 

precept 58 

Perpetuity  and  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  the 

fathers 315-329 

Pliny,  epistle  of,  211,  235-237 

Pope  Innocent   III.  responsible  for   the    roll  from 

heaven, 388-391 

Precepts  given  to  Israel  classified,  51 

Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians  contend  over  Sun- 
day,    471-477 

Presbyterians  get  Sunday  into  the  fourth  command- 
ment,   472-476 

Priceless  value  of  the  Sabbath,  509,  510 

Prophets  taught  the  people  on  the  Sabbath,  100 

Protestant  Sue  day -keeping  as  viewed  by  a  learned 

Catholic  theologian,  477,  478 

Reasons  for  Sunday  stated  in  the  words  of  the  fa- 
thers,    289-294 

Eeasons  out  of  the  fathers  for  rejecting   the   Sab- 
bath,    299-309 

Kecords  of  ancient  Sabbath-keepers  destroyed 399 

lledemption  no  argument  for  change  of  Sabbath,  ...  151-155 
lleformation  differently  viewed  by  Luther  and  Carl- 

stadt,  451 

Reformers  all  brought  something  from  Home,  478 

Reformers,  just  view  of,  445.  446 

Rest  of  the  Creator,  reason  for  it,  14,  15 

Restoration  of  Israel,  if  they  keep  the  Sabbath. 102 

Resurrection  of  Christ  did  not  affect  the  Sabbath,  ...  142-147 

Roll  from  heaven  in  behalf  of  Sunday,  385-389 

Roman  church  turns  the  Sabbath  into  a  fast, 280,  281 

Romanists  have  corrupted  the  fathers 200,  201 

Rule  of  faith  of  the  man  of  God 202 

Rule  of  faith  of  the  Romanist,  202 

Russian  Sabbath-keepers,  464-407 

Sabbatarian  principles,  480,  483,  487,  489 

Sabbatarians,  ancient  bodies  of,  338-3-10,  354 

Sabbatati  or  Insabbatati  defined 407-411 

Sabbath  a  sign,  43,  44,  53-58 

"Sabbath  between," 168 

Sabbath-breaking  in  the  wilderness,  effect  of,  (55-67 

Sabbatii  at  creation  in  the  early  fathers,  312-315 

Sabbath  defined 20 

Sabbath  during  Dark  Ages 398-432 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS.  :)'2  i 

Sabbath  during  the  forty  years,  64-74 

Sabbath  given,  meaning  of  the  term,  42,  43 

Sabbath-keepers  in  Constantinople,  a.  d.  1054,  420-422 

Sabbath-keepers  in  Rome,  a.  d.  GOO,  374,  375,  400 

Sabbath  in  ancient  writers  means  Saturday,  370,  371 

Sabbath  in  the  book  of  Acts,  167-182 

Sabbath  in  the  fourth  century,  359-362 

Sabbath  in  the  fifth  century,  367,  368 

Sabbath  in  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  100-106 

Sabbath  in  the  time  of  Maccabees, 110-112 

Sabbath  made  known,  meaning  of  the  term,  49 

Sabbath  may  be  kept  over  the  earth,  102 

Sabbath  more  ancient  than  circumcision,  128 

Sabbath  not  a  memorial  of  deliverance  from  Egypt,  ...  76-79 

Sabbath  not  a  shadow  of  redemption,  27,  28 

Sabbath  not  a  Jewish  feast,  71,  72 

Sabbath  not  mentioned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  92-95 

Sabbath  not  mentioned  from  Moses  to  David,  92-95 

Sabbath,  the  acts  by  which  it  was  made,  14-16 

Sabbaths,  weekly  and  annual,  their  dilference,    86-92 

Sabbath,  when  made,  15,  16,  20-25,  46,  47 

Sabbath,  why  instituted,  25,  26,  509,  510 

Sabbath  in  the  new  earth,   510-512 

Sanctified,  the  word  defined,  15,  17-19 

Sanctificatiou  of  the  seventh  day  was  at  the  beginning,  23-25 

Second  tables  of  stone,  who  wrote  them,  60,  61 

Self-contradiction  of  Justin  Edwards,  177.  178 

Seventh  day,  event  on  the  first  of  time,  13,  14 

Seventh  day  of  the  commandment  is  the  seventh  day 

of  the  week,  48,  49 

Seventh-day  Baptists  of  America,  493-499 

Seyen,  signification  of  the  number,  14,  15 

Seventh-day  Adventists  of  America,  500-509 

Seventh-day  Adventists  of  Switzerland,  509 

Show-bread  eaten  by  David,  97,  98 

Siberian  Sabbath-keepers,  500 

Slander  of  heretics  no  sin,  418 

Sticks,  the  case  of  picking  them  up  on  the  Sabbath,  ...72-74 

Sun  and  moon  stand  still,    96,  97 

Sunday  a  day  of  relief  to  souls  in  purgatory  and  in 

hell,   383,  384 

Sunday  an  ancient  heathen  festival,  258-264,  277,  278 

279,  341,  812,  345-349 

Sunday  arguments  of  the  Dark  Ages,  what  became 

of  them,  470 

Sunday  as  the  sister  of  the  Sabbath,   361,  362 

Sunday  authoritatively  established  as  Lord's  day.    849-351 


•)2S  INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 

Sunday  at  the  Council  of  Nice,  27o,  270 

Sunday  during  the  Dark  Ages,  302-398 

.Sunday  edicts  of  kings,  emperors,  popes  and  coun- 
cils,    34:1-840,  349,  303,  359-301,  300,  372-398 

Sunday  festival,  origin  and  growth  of,  ....  223,  224,  352,  353 

Sunday  festival  defined  by  the  reformers,  434-4o0 

Sunday,  first  witnesses  for,  228-243 

Sunday,  how  mentioned  prior  to  a.  d.  194 218,  219 

Sunday  labor  in  the  early  church  not  sinful,  283-289, 

290,  299,  310-322,  343-345 

Sunday  labor  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  303-300 

Sunday  Lord's  day  not  traceable  to  the  apostles,  ....  204-228 
Sunday  on  a  level  with  other  festivals  in  the  early 

church 204-200,  295,  290 

Sunday  sustained  only  by  the  Romanists'  rule,  202,  203 

223,  224,  294,  477,  478 

Sunday,  when  first  called  Sabbath, 370,  371 

Superstition  of  the  Jews  concerning  the  Sabbath,  ...  113,  114 

Tabernacles,  feast  of,  defined,  83,  84 

Ten  commandments  alone  on  the  tables  of  stone,  79-81 

Tertullian's  excuses  for  Sunday  observance,  277,  278 

Tertullian  on  Lord's  day,   222-224 

Tertullian's  self-contradiction 270,  277,  305-307 

Theophilus  mentions  no  Lord's  day,  212,  218 

Time  defined,  9 

Time,  great  week  of,  9 

Tradition  characterized,  and  exemplified, ...198,  201,  227,  228 
Tradition  for  the  passover  more  apostolic  than  for 

Sunday,  227,  228 

Transylvanian  Sabbath-keepers,   400-403 

Trask,  Mrs.,  sufferings  of,   481-483 

Troas,  Taul  at, 178-182 

True  God  distinguished  from  false  gods,  25,  20 

Typical  olbservances  no  part  of  the  Sabbath  law,  98,  99 

Time  to  commence  the  Sabbath,  107,  108 

Unfairness  of  anti-Sabbatarians, 131,  132 

Waldenses,   403-415 

Weeks,  how  and  when  made,  10,  30,  31 

Wilderness  of  fin,  record  of,  how  connecting  Gen. 

2:  1-3,  and  Ex.  20:8-11,  40,  47 


Page  141,  chapter  xix.,  in  the  notes,  should  be  chapter  xxvii. 
2.")o,  "and."  in  the  Latin  notes,  shotdd  be  "«fc." 
"       'JOij,  "exaltation,"  in  lino  li'),  shrnild  be  *' exultntion." 

"       .'.(I.',  tor  "s7iMHH)/'  I'c'iul  .$b'_'. (>(.(',   -  .\r,(lil(n's  l;d«'r  fc'i-'orl. 


Catalogue  of  Pubiications 

For  sale  at  the  Office  of  the  Eeview  and  Herald,  Battle 

Creek,  Mich,,  and  at  the  Pacific  Press, 

Oakland,  California. 


The  Advent  Review  and  Sabbath  Herald.  A  six- 
teen-page Religious  Family  Newspaper,  devoted  to  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  Prophecies,  Signs  of  the  Times,  Second 
Coming  of  Christ,  Harmony  of  the  Law  and  the  Gospel, 
What  we  must  Do  to  be  Saved,  and  other  Bible  ques- 
tions.    $2. 00  a  year. 

Good  Health.  A  monthly  journal  of  hygiene,  de- 
voted to  Physical,  Mental,  and  Moral  Culture.  $1.00  a 
year. 

The  Youth's  Instrxjctor.  A  four-page  illustrated 
weekly  for  the  Sabbath-school  and  the  family.  75  cts.  a 
year. 

The  Advent  Tidende,  A  Danish  semi-monthly,  six- 
teen pages,  magazine  form,  devoted  to  expositions  of 
prophecy,  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  practical  religion. 
ll.OO  a  year. 

Advent  Harolden.  A  Swedish  monthly,  of  the  same 
size,  and  devoted  to  the  same  topics,  as  the  Advent  Ti- 
dende.    75  cts.  a  year. 

Stimme  dee,  Wahp.heit.  An  eight-page  German 
monthly.  A  religious  family  newspaper,  frequently  il- 
lustrated.    50  cts.  a  year. 

The  College  Record.  A  four-page  educational 
monthly.     10  cts.  a  year. 

The  ?,bove  are  published  in  Kattle  Creels,  Mich.    Terms  always  in  advance. 

The  Signs  of  the  Times.     A  twelve-page  vveekly  Re- 

(529) 


530  CATALOGUE  OF 

ligious  Paper,  devoted  to  the  dissemination  of  light  upon 
the  same  great  themes  treated  in  the  Advent  Review  and 
Sahhath  Herald.    Published  in  Oakland,  Cal.    $2. 00  a  year. 

Les  Signes  des  Temps.  A  religious  montlily  journal 
in  French.    PubHshed  in  Bale,  Switzerland.    $1.00  a  year, 

BOOKS,  PAMPHLETS,  AND  TEAOTS. 

History  of  the  Sabbath  aishd  of  the  First  Day  of 
THE  Week.  By  Elder  J.  N.  Andrews.  This  work  con- 
tains an  outline  of  the  history  of  the  Sabbath  for  the  pe- 
riod of  Six  Thousand  years.  Part  First  is  the  Biblical 
liistory  of  the  Sabbath  and  of  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
Part  Second  is  the  secular  history  of  these  two  days  since 
the  time  of  the  apostles.  This  volume  has  been  prepared 
with  most  careful  and  patient  study.  In  all  cases  of 
quotations  from  secular  history,  book,  chapter,  and  page 
are  given.  And  book,  chapter,  and  verse  are  given  of  all 
quotations  from  the  word  of  God.  528  pp.     $1.00 

The  Sanctuary  and  2300  Days  of  Dan.  8:14.  By 
Elder  U.  Smith.  This  question  has  developed  the  peo- 
ple known  as  Seventh-day  Adventists,  and  is  the  pivotal 
doctrine  upon  which  their  applications  of  prophecy  largely 
depend.  It  explains  the  past  Advent  movement,  shows 
why  those  who  looked  for  the  Lord  in  1844  were  disap- 
pointed, reveals  the  fact  so  essential  to  be  understood, 
that  no  prophetic  period  reaches  to  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,  and  shows  where  we  are,  and  Avliat  we  are  to  ex- 
pect in  the  future.  A  knowledge  of  this  subject  is  indis- 
pensable to  a  correct  application  of  the  more  important 
prophecies  pertaining  to  the  present  time.     352  pp.    $1.00 

Condensed  edition,  paper,  224  '*         .30 

Thoughts  on  Daniel,  Critical  and  Practical.  By 
Elder  U.  Smith.  An  exposition  of  the  book  of  Daniel 
verse  by  verse.  400  pp.     $1.00 

Thoughts  on  Revelation,  Critical  and  Practical. 
By  Elder  U.  Smith.  This  work  presents  every  verse  in 
the  book  of  Eevelation  with  such  remarks  as  serve  to  il- 
lustrate or  explain  the  meaning  of  the  text.    400  pp.    $1. 00 

Nature  and  Destiny  of  Man.  By  Elder  U.  Smith. 
This  work,  as  its  title  implies,  treats  upon  tlie  constitution 
of  man,  his  consequent  condition  in  death,  and  destiny 


PUBLICATIONS.  581 

beyond  the  resurrection.  All  the  passages  in  the  Bible 
which  have  a  bearing  upon  these  questions  are  taken  up 
and  explained  in  full,  thus  giving  the  most  comprehensive 
view  of  this  whole  question  that  has  yet  been  pre- 
sented. 356  pp.     $1.00 

Life  Sketches.  This  work  embraces  sketches  of  the 
parentage,  early  life,  Christian  experience,  and  extensive 
labors  of  Elder  James  White,  and  also  of  his  wife,  Mrs. 
E.G.White.  416  pp.     $1.00 

With  steel  engraving  of  Elder  W. ,  1. 25 

Life  of  Williajvi  Miller,  with  portrait.  This  work 
comprises  sketches  of  the  Christian  Experience  and  Pub- 
lic Labors  of  this  remarkable  man,  gathered  from  his 
Memoir  by  the  late  Sylvester  Bliss,  with  Introduction  and 
Notes  by  Elder  James  White.  This  book  sets  forth  the 
true  principles  and  jeal  character  of  the  man  who  was  the 
leading  spirit  in  the  great  American  Second-Advent 
Movement.  408  pp.     $1.00 

Life  of  Elder  Joseph  Bates,  with  portrait.  This  is 
a  reprint  of  his  Autobiography,  with  introduction,  and 
closing  chapters  relative  to  his  public  ministry  and  last 
sickness,  by  Elder  James  White.  The  closing  chapters 
relate  to  his  labors  in  the  ministry  and  in  moral  reforms, 
and  the  triumphant  close  of  his  long  and  useful  life.  This 
book  should  be  in  every  family  library.  Fine  tinted 
paper,  352  pp.     $L00 

Plain  white  paper,  "  .85 

The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  ;  or,  the  Great  Controversy 
between  Christ  and  his  Angels,  and  Satan  and  liis  Angels, 
in  four  volumes.  By  Mrs.  Ellen  G.  White.  These  vol- 
umes cover  the  time  from  the  fall  of  Satan  to  the  de- 
struction of  sin  at  the  close  of  the  one  thousand  years  of 
Rev.  20,  The  first  three  of  these  volumes  are  in  print, 
and  it  is  expected  that  the  fourth,  the  most  interesting 
and  important  of  the  series,  will  soon  be  ready. 

Each,  416  pp.     $1.00 

The  Bible  from  Heaven.  By  Elder  D.  M.  Canright. 
This  work  is  what  its  name  implies,  an  argument  to  show 
that  the  Bible  is  not  the  work  of  men,  but  is  in  deed  and 
in  truth  the  word  of  God.  It  is  a  candid,  forcible,  con- 
clusive argument,  sustained  by  a  large  array  of  facts  and 
such  deductions  of  science  as  rest  upon  any  tolerable  cer- 


532  CATALOGUE  OF 

tainty.  Just  the  work  to  put  into  the  hands  of  hon- 
est skeptics,  and  those  who  are  exposed  to  intidel  influ- 
ences. Adapted  to  the  use  of  any  and  all  persons  who 
believe  in  the  Bible.  400  pp.     $1.00 

The  Biblical  Institute.  This  is  the  title  of  a  work 
containing  a  synopsis  of  the  lectures  given  at  the  Institute 
held  in  Oakland,  Cal. ,  April  1-17,  1877.  These  coverall 
the  main  points  of  our  faith,  giving  facts  and  dates,  and 
the  heads  of  the  argiinients.  352  pp.     ^1.00 

Hyiven"  Book.  *'  Hymns  and  Tunes  for  those  who  keep 
the  Commandments  of  God  and  the  Faith  of  Jesus,"  is 
the  title  of  this  book.  It  has  537  hymns  and  147 
tunes.  416  pp.     fl.OO 

Constitutional  Amendment  ;  or,  the  Sunday,  the  Sab- 
bath, the  Change,  and  the  Restitution.  A  discussion  be- 
tAveen  W.  H.  Little  John  and  the  editor  of  the  Christian 
Statesman.  This  work  discusses  the  proposed  religious 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  especially  in  its  bearing 
upon  the  subject  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  This  involves  an  examination  of  the  alleged 
change  of  the  Sabbath.  384  pp.     $1.00 

In  paper  covers,  336    "  .40 

The  Soul  and  the  Resurrection.  ShuAving  the  har- 
mony of  science  and  the  Bible  on  the  nature  of  the  soul 
and  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  By  J.  H.  Kellogg, 
M.  D.  224  pp.     75  cts. 

Game  of  Life.  A  scene  representing  Satan  playing 

with  man  for  his  soul.     Three  lithograph   illustrations. 

In  board,  50  cts. 

Paper  covers,  30  cts. 

The  United  States  in  the  Light  of  Prophecy  ;  or, 
an  Exposition  of  Rev.  13:11-17.  By  Elder  U.  Smith. 
Dealing  with  our  own  land  and  applying  to  our  time,  this 
is  a  portion  of  prophecy  which  should  possess  surpassing 
interest  for  every  American  reader.  This  work  shows  by 
conclusive  .arguments  the  position  which  the  United 
States  government  holds  in  prophecy,  and  the  important 
part  it  is  to  act  in  the  closing  scenes  of  time.  Issues  are 
even  now  arising  which  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  all  be  prepared  to  meet,  160  pp.   40  cts. 

In  paper  covers,  20  cts, 


PUBLICATIONS.  533 


Thoughts  on  Baptism.  A  full  treatise,  viewing  the 
subject  from  history  and  the  Bible.  By  Elder  J.  H. 
Waggoner.  189  pp.     35  cts. 

The  Song  Anchor.     A  popular  collection  of  songs  for 

the  Sabbath-school  and  praise  service.       164  pp.     35  cts. 

Bound  in  muslin,  SO  cts. 

Poem  on  the  Sabbath.     By  Elder  U.  Smith.      30  cts. 

The  Seven  Thumpets.  A  careful  and  deeply  interest- 
ing exposition  of  Rev.  8  and  9. 

Life    of    Christ,   six    pamphlets.      By  Mrs. 
White  :— 
No.  1.   His  First  Advent  and  Ministry.     104  pp. 

"    2.   His  Temptation  in  the  Wilderness.  96  pp. 

"    3.   His  Teachings  and  Parables.     126  pp. 

"    4.   His  Mighty  Miracles.     128  pp. 

"    5.   His  sufferings  and  Crucifixion.     96  pp. 

"    6.   His  Resurrection  and  Ascension.     80  pp. 
Life  of  the  Apostles,  two  pamphlets  : — 
No.  1.  The  Ministry  of  Peter.     80  pp. 

"    2.  The  Teachnigs  of  Paul.     80  pp. 

Facts  for  the  Times.  A  collection  of  Valuable  Ex- 
tracts from  Eminent  Authors.  224  pp.     25  cts. 

Eleven  Sermons  on  the  Sabbath  and  Law.  By  Elder 
J.  N.  Andrews.  226  pp.     25  cts. 

History  of  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul.  By  Elder 
D.  M.   Canright.  200  pp.     25  cts. 

Modern  Spiritualism.  Nature  and  Tendency  of  Mod- 
ern Spiritualism.     By  Elder  J.  H.  Waggoner. 

184  pp.     20  cts. 

Refutation  of  the  Age  to  Come.  By  Elder  J.  H. 
Waggoner.  168  pp.     20  cts. 

The  Atonement.  By  Elder  J.  H.  Waggoner.  An  exr 
amination  of  a  remedial  system  in  the  light  of  Nature  and 
Revelation.  168  pp.     20  cts. 

The  Ministration  of  Angels,  and  the  Origin,  His- 
tory, AND  Destiny  of  Satan.  By  Elder  D.  M.  Can- 
right.  144  pp.     20  cts. 


10  cts. 

E.    G. 

10  cts. 

10  cts. 

15  cts. 

15  cts. 

10  cts. 

10  cts. 

10  cts. 

10  cts. 

534  catalogue:  of 

Our  Faith  and  Hope.  Sermons  on  the  Coming  and 
Kingdom  of  Christ.     By  Elder  James  White. 

182  pp.     20  cts. 

Miraculous  Powers.  The  Scripture  Testimony  on 
the  Perpetuity  of  Spiritual  Gifts,  with  Narratives  of  In- 
cidents and  Sentiments  carefully  compiled  from'  the 
Eminently  Pious  and  Learned  of  various  denomina- 
tions. 128  pp.     15  cts. 

Resurrection  of  the  Unjust.  A  vindication  of  the 
doctrine.     By  Elder  J.  H.  Waggoner.      100  pp.     15  cts. 

The  Spirit  of  God,  its  Gifts  and  Manifestations  to 
the  end  of  the  Christian  Age.  By  Elder  J.  H.  Wag- 
goner. 144  pp.     15  cts. 

The  Three  Messages  of  Revelation  14 :  6-12,  partic- 
ularly the  Third  Angel's  Message  and  the  Two-Horned 
Beast.     By  Elder  J.  N.  Andrews.  144  pp.     15  cts. 

The  Two  Laws,  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  By  Elder  D.  M.  Can- 
right.  104  pp.     15  cts. 

The  Morality  op  the  Sabbath.  By  Elder  D.  M.  Can- 
right.  9G  pp.     15  cts. 

The  Complete  Testimony  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
First  Three  Centuries  Concerning  the  Sabbath 
AND  First  Day  of  the  Week.  By  Elder  J.  N.  An- 
drews. 112  pp.     15  cts. 

Gems  of  Song.  A  collection  of  familiar  hymns  for 
religious  meetings.  15  cts. 

Christ  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Sabbath  in 
THE  New.     By  Elder  James  White.  56  pp.     10  cts. 

Redeemer  and   Redeemed.     By  Elder  James  White. 

48  pp.     10  cts. 

The  Signs  of  the  Times  from  the  Fulfillment  of 
Prophecy.     By  Elder  James  White.  96  pp.     10  cts. 

The  Truth  Found.  A  clear  and  concise  argument  in 
behaK  of  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  By 
Elder  J.  H.  Waggoner.  64  pp.     10  cts. 

Review  of  Gilfillan.  Thoughts  suggested  by  the 
perusal  of  Gilfillan  and  other  authors  on  the  Sabbath. 
By  Elder  Thomas  B.  Brown.  64  pp.     10  cts. 


PUBLICATIONS.  535 

Morton's  Vindication  of  the  Sabbath.  An  interest- 
ing experience  of  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  embracing 
the  Sabbath.     By  J..  W.  Morton.  68  pp.     10  cts. 

The  Ancient  Sabbath — Objections  Considered.  By 
Elder  D.  T.  Bourdeaii.  87  pp.     10  cts. 

Appeal  to  the  Baptists.  An  address  to  the  Baptists 
in  behalf  of  the  Lord's  Sabbath.  By  the  S.  D.  B.  Gen. 
Conference.  46  pp.     10  cts. 

The  Rejected  Ordinance.  A  careful  examination  of 
our  Lord's  memorial  of  humility  found  in  John  13.  By 
Elder  W.  H.  Little  John.  64  pp.     10  cts. 

Matthew  Twenty-Four.  A  thorough  exposition  of 
this  important  chapter.     By  Elder  James  White. 

64  pp.     10  cts. 

The  Poet  Milton  on  the  State  of  the  Dead.  This 
work  shows  that  Milton  was  a  decided  believer  in,  and 
an  able  defender  of,  the  doctrine  that  in  death  man  is 
unconscious.  32  pp.     5  cts. 

Four- Cent  Tracts.  "Redemption — The  Second  Ad- 
vent— The  Sufferings  of  Christ — The  Present  Truth — 
Origin  and  Progress  of  S.  D.  Adventists — The  Celestial 
Railroad — The  Seventh  Part  of  Time — Ten  Command- 
ments not  Abolished — The  Two  Covenants — Address  to 
the  Baptists — Milton  on  State  of  the  Dead — The  Two 
Thrones— Spiritualism  a  Satanic  Delusion — Samuel  and 
the  Witch  of  Endor— The  Third  Message  of  Rev.  14— 
Tithes  and  Offerings. 

Three-Cent  Tracts. — The  Second  Message  of  Rev. 
14— Who  Changed  the  Sabbath  ?— The  Lost-Time  Ques- 
tion— The  Spirit  of  Prophecy — Scripture  References — 
The  End  of  the  Wicked— Infidel  Cavils  Considered— The 
Pocasset  Tragedy — Sabbaton — Wine  and  the  Bible. 

Two-Cent  Tracts. — Christ  in  the  Old  Testament — The 
Sabbath  in  the  New  Testament — The  Old  Moral  Code 
not  Revised — The  Sanctuary  of  the  Bible — The  Judg- 
ment— Much  in  Little — The  Millennium — The  Two  Laws 
— Seven  Reasons — The  Definite  Seventh  Day — Departing 
and  Being  with  Christ — The  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus — 
Elihu  on  the  Sabbath — First  Message  of  Rev.  14 — The 
Law  and  the  Gospel — Alcoholic  Medication — Pork. 


536  CATALOGVE. 


One-Cent  Tracts. — The  Coming  of  the  Lord — Perfec- 
tion of.  the  Ten  Commandments  —  Without  Excuse — 
Thoughts  for  the  Candid — A  Sign  of  the  Day  of  God — 
Brief  Thoughts  on  Immortalit}^ — Which  Day '? — Can  we 
Know,  or  Can  the  Prophecies  Be  Understood? — Is  the 
End  Near  1 — Is  Man  Immortal  ? — The  Sleep  of  the  Dead — 
The  Sinner's  Fate— The  Law  of  God— What  the  Gospel 
Abrogated — One  Hundred  Bible  Facts  about  the  Sabbath 
— Sunday  not  the  Sabbath — "The  Christian  Sabbath" — 
Wliy  not  Found  Out  Before — Causes  and  Cure  of  Intem- 
perance— Moral  and  Social  Eflects  of  Intemperance — 
Tobacco-Using  a  Cause  of  Disease — Tobacco  Poisoning  : 
Nicotiana  Tabacum — Evil  EUects  of  Tea  and  Coffee — Ten 
Arguments  on  Tea  and  Coffee. 

WORKS  IN  OTHER  LANGUAGES. 

The  S.  D.  A.  Publishing  Association  issues  many  of  the 
foregoing  publications  in  Danish,  Swedish,  German, 
French,  and  Italian. 

It  has  a  full  supply  of  English  Bibles,  of  all  sizes  and 
prices.  Also  Maps  and  Charts  for  Sabbath-school  use, 
and  a  very  carefully  prepared  library  of  excellent  read- 
ing for  the  young. 

HEALTH  AND  TEMPERANCE  PUBLICATIONS. 

This  Association  publishes,  and  keeps  on  hand  for  sale,  a 
long  list  of  books,  pamphlets,  and  tracts  treating  upon  the 
great  question  of  Health  and  Temperance.  The  various 
subjects  coming  under  the  above  head  are  all  treated  in  a 
very  clear  and  earnest  manner,  and  are  especially  adapted 
for  use  by  those  who  set  forth  the  gospel  of  health. 

^©-Full  Catalogues  of  all  our  publications,  giving 
si/es,  styles,  and  prices,  are  sent  free  on  application. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Libra 


1    1012  01051   2384 


Date  Due 


